Under Her Spell, Book Two, Edward Masen in: One Step Closer to Forever
by Bubbleybear
Summary: Hoping for a quiet year at Hogwarts seemed to be too much to ask for. An ominous note left on the wall, a petrified cat, and a teacher that seems to want nothing to do with teaching the resident immortals. Who will defend them from the monster that lurks within the castle?
1. Prelude

**Hey everyone, I'm back, and with Book TWO. Under Her Spell - Book Two - Edward Masen in: One Step Closer to Forever. I want to thank all of you that are once again joining me on this ride, I love you all.**

 **Today you'll get this prelude and Chapter One, so I'll only leave this long a/n on here.**

 **Thank you to my best friend, idea bouncer, banner maker and all round good person Pien. And a massive thank you goes to Sally, my beta, who manages to keep all those pesky comma's and other things in line. You guys rock!**

 **Harry Potter and Twilight belong to JK Rowling and SM respectively, there's no copyright infringement intended. We just love both worlds so much.**

 **Please enjoy ...**

* * *

 **Under Her Spell**

 **Book Two**

 **One Step Closer to Forever**

 _ **Prelude**_

 _Once again, I landed in a dark, damp cavern. This time it was larger with more detail than the last one. It had a pool and on the high wall on the opposite side were two large pillars with the face of Salazar Slytherin carved into the rock between them. There was a walkway leading off to a large circular door, but all along the side were carved statues of large snakes coiled up ready to strike. Their mouths were wide open with large fangs; their creepy yellow eyes were lit up from the inside._

 _This place was creepy, and I was glad that, at this point, I was only an interloper in a dream._

 _I could see two girls and two young men. One of the young men was translucent, like he wasn't completely there. Unfortunately, one of the girls was unconscious while the other looked her over. The two young men were facing off, one sported a smug smile, but his eyes were cold in an otherwise blank face. The other was crouched over the girls, wand in hand, his eyes hard when he looked at the almost ghost across from them. They softened when he looked down but there was a permanent frown marring his face. The boys were sizing each other up, waiting for the slightest move of the other._

" _She's not dead," the girl called in relief. "But she's cold to the touch and not far from it."_

" _She may not be dead now, but she will be soon," the darker-haired boy sneered. "As she gets weaker, I get stronger, and soon, I shall no longer be trapped."_

" _We won't let you get away with this!" the other boy growled._

" _You won't have a choice; the monster will take care of you. Parseltongue won't save you now; it only obeys the heir! And when you are gone, I will cease to be a memory."_

 _I listened as the first boy hissed,_ "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts' Four," _in Parseltongue, only to have the mouth of the huge face slide open to reveal a tunnel._

 _But it wasn't the tunnel that worried me. It was the thing that was stirring inside it. Large yellow eyes stared out at the group that was on the floor before it began to move, to glide out through the opening in Salazar's mouth._

 _Something big came out of that tunnel, something enormous with terrifying glowing yellow eyes. I could determine that even before I could see what, in the name of Merlin, it was._

 _The last thing I heard before I was pulled out of the dream was the cry of Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix._

I knew when I came out of this dream there was no way to prevent it. It looked like we were in for the fight of our lives once again.

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 **Click next for Chapter One!**


	2. Chapter One - Back To School

**I left the long author's note on the previous one, so I'll just say that Twilight and Harry Potter belong to SM and JK Rowling and there's no copyright infringement intended.**

 **See you at the bottom!**

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 **Chapter One – The Howler**

"Everyone ready to go?" Esme called out from the bottom of the staircase. "Come on, we're cutting it close. You leave for school in a couple weeks."

It had been a crazy week or so since our Hogwarts letters came. Esme had been finalizing the build of the magic-free house on the school grounds so she could teach her Muggle Studies class properly. She wanted to make sure she could give everyone a thorough education on all things Muggle. Jasper had taken his History of Magic professor's exam and absolutely killed it. We would have two new professors starting that year at Hogwarts. Hermione, Isa, and I couldn't wait.

"Time to go, Teddy!" Isa called as she pulled on my hand. "Diagon Alley, here we come!"

I growled at her playfully, causing her to run from me. She squealed as I chased her down and threw her over my shoulder, running out of the door of our suite. I noticed that Hermione had just stepped out of her door when we hit on the landing, so I grabbed her up onto the other shoulder so fast that she screamed in terror, causing Isa to giggle.

"Hi, Hermione!"

Once she realized what had happened, and Isa had spoken, she giggled as well. "Hi, Bella!"

Emmett was laughing when we reached the bottom of the stairs. "I guess you're just not as scary as you think you are, Edward."

I did the mature thing and blew a raspberry at him. "I don't need to be scary to the ones I love. I like them to have fun, and if I can illicit giggles from them, my day is complete."

Emmett opened his mouth to argue, but Esme interrupted before he could. "Come on now, you lot. Everyone else is busy with their jobs, but we need to get ready for school. Including Jasper and me. Emmett, you're here to make sure we don't lose anyone, so you can go first." She handed him the floo powder and directed him toward the fireplace.

After Emmett went through, I took my turn so I was on the other side for Isa when she was ready. She was still afraid of using the Floo Network, so we accommodated her as much as we could.

When I stepped out of the fireplace in Diagon Alley, I nearly bumped into Harry in his Mike disguise, and not far from him were James and Sirius in their Shane and Jacob disguises as well as the Weasleys.

"Edward!" Fred and George yelled. "How's it going, mate?"

I laughed, shaking their hands. "I'm great, guys." I looked around, seeing Ginny with Molly, who was talking to Shane and Jacob; Ron was standing with a very quiet Mike, but I could see that someone was missing. "Where's Percy?"

They both shrugged. "He's been holed up in his room more than usual, not talking to anyone or doing anything other than what Mum has asked him to do," Fred started.

"As soon as we got here, he took off in that direction," George finished, pointing down Diagon Alley. "But we have some things to show you!"

They started showing me some of the inventions they'd come up with in their minds during the holidays. They were mostly different types of fireworks, little ones that could be hidden on one's person, but very effective.

Isa came through the fireplace as I finished watching their ideas. "They're brilliant. Let me know if you want any sort of help. Financial or otherwise."

"We will," they chanted. "Hi, Bella!"

She giggled. "Hi, guys. Ready to shop?"

Their faces dropped, it was quite comical how fast they changed.

"Uh, yeah, sure."

It wasn't even the money that was the problem; it was the shopping for things as mundane as school supplies. It was also the fact that Molly had forbidden them from going into Zonko's that they hated.

"Well, that may not be a problem, fellas. Your mother is looking forward to seeing Professor Lockhart in Flourish and Blotts; you may be able to sneak out then." I laughed. "We could keep an eye on that, right, Isa?"

She giggled at the hope in their eyes. "I think we could manage that … but you have to get your books first so she's not suspicious."

They nodded their heads like bobble-headed dolls, so fast and so hard, that I thought they were going to pop off their shoulders. Isa and I were laughing when Hermione stepped out of the fireplace.

"Hi, Hermione!" Fred and George called to take the heat off of us.

"Hi, Fred. Hi, George. What's going on?"

"Nothing." They both shook their heads.

"Uh huh."

We'd managed to calm down by the time Jasper then Esme had walked out of the fireplace. After a conference with the other "adults," we decided to head to Gringotts first. I could hear through Molly's thoughts that she was worried about how to pay for all the books her children were going to need this year. Isa and I had devised a plan for how to help with that by making anonymous small deposits into their account, like interest, with the help of the goblins at Gringotts. They didn't understand why we wanted to do it but did it anyway. Molly would have a nice surprise when she got to their vault.

It was a way for Isa to pay them back for looking after her; she knew Molly and Arthur wouldn't accept it directly, and after trying to figure it out on her own, she came to me. It was the only way we thought we could get away with it.

Molly was the last to emerge from Gringotts; her thoughts were blank, well except for three words. Where, how, and why? She was grateful, that much even I could feel without Jasper's help, but she was curious. Isa looked up at me when she saw the look on Molly's face, and I gave her a thumbs up that made her giggle.

We made our way down along Diagon Alley, stopping occasionally to shop or browse the items available. We were restocking supplies when we heard Ron shouting at Molly from across the way.

"Why the hell does she get a new wand? She should have a hand-me-down like the rest of us! In fact, why is she getting all new things? Robes, books, everything!"

"Ron, you need to calm down," Molly whisper-yelled at him. "You're making a scene."

"I don't care!" he growled. "Why can't we have new things? You seem to have money!"

I looked at Isa, who shooed me away to help Molly. I could see Fred and George making their way over, but they weren't going to get there quickly enough. I used my speed and my strength to not only move at vampire speed but to also jump clear of the crowd that was gathering around them.

"She's getting new things because she's a girl! None of yours or your brothers would work with her! Now please stop!" Molly begged.

Just as Ron was about to open his mouth to start in on her again, I landed behind him and wrapped my hand around his mouth and one around his waist, picked him up, and took him away from Molly. Fred ran ahead to the wall, which was the back entrance of the Leaky Cauldron, tapping out the familiar tune to open the secret door. I strode through when it was wide enough with Fred and George following behind me. I sat Ron down as hard as I dared on a chair way back in the corner.

Fred and George sat on either side of him while I took a seat in front. It was Fred who started the conversation. "What the hell, mate? How dare you talk to Mum like that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ron grumbled.

"We saw you do it!" George almost shouted.

"Well, I don't understand! Why can't we get new wands now? Why must she be the _only_ one?"

"Because ours all work fine! And there are no more family ones left!" they both bellowed, drawing more attention to our little group.

"Calm down, guys. People are looking," I hissed. "And, Ron, just because you have money doesn't mean you should spend it willy-nilly! Do you think we got the fortune we have by buying everything when we felt like it?"

Ron stayed quiet.

"You have no idea of the real world around you, muggle, magic, or otherwise. Having money means being responsible with it. Only buying what you need and not what you want— _all the time—_ and at this point, your sister needs everything new not just because she's a girl but because there is nothing to hand down to her. She will be getting hand-me-down books from your lot last year, except for the new ones that you _all_ need. Stop being a selfish little brat." With that, I got up off my stool and stormed back into Diagon Alley. I had never met a more selfish person in my life, and that was saying something considering how Rosalie used to be.

By the time I made it back to everyone, I had cooled down some. Isa was waiting with her big brown eyes all worried about what was going on. But all she did was hold out her hand, wanting to comfort me.

"Is everything okay with Ron?" Molly asked.

I nodded. "He's just being …"

"A brat," Ginny huffed.

"Shh, Ginny, he's not. He just doesn't understand." Molly defended him. Isa shook her head at Molly's denial.

 _He's only going to get worse if she doesn't pull him in,_ Esme thought. _I could see Emmett being much like that when he was a boy._

Esme walked over and grabbed Molly's hand. "That doesn't excuse his behavior, Molly dear. And you should reprimand him for that."

Molly looked up at Esme askance before reluctantly nodding. It seemed from her thoughts that none of the other boys had ever been like that; they were all so easygoing as they grew up. But Ron, he was high maintenance right from the word go.

 _He should have been a girl,_ Isa and I thought at the same time. I chuckled, which caused her to look up at me. "Great minds think alike, smart girl."

She looked confused for a minute. _Oh._ Then she burst into giggles.

"Never mind for now," Esme continued. "Let's get going to Flourish and Blotts. It's the last place we have to go."

Molly nodded and followed, somewhat subdued. I looked around to see that Fred and George were with an upset Ginny; Ron was now back with Shane, Jacob, and Mike. He was upset, not for talking that way to his mother but for doing it where he could get caught. It seemed the older he got the more he thought it was all about himself. I'm not sure anything we said actually stuck.

As we got closer to the bookstore, we came across a rather large crowd. When I looked around, I noticed a sign in the window with a large winking picture of a blond man. He had an overly large smile, and he was standing with his hands on his hips, wearing a rather flamboyant lavender set of robes. When I read the title of the book— _Magical Me by Gilderoy Lockhart—_ I groaned. This couldn't be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, could it?

We made our way inside the store. We had to push some people out of the way and found out that the reason the store was so crowded was because _Gilderoy Lockhart_ was going to be signing copies of his books today. Why, of all days, did we have to come today?

Isa and I decided we wanted to get out as quickly as possible, so we rounded up our books and stood in the line for the register. Unfortunately for us, we weren't quick enough. Just as we reached the front, Lockhart made his presence known at the desk they had set up for him. However, before he opened his mouth, he looked around at all of his _adoring fans—_ his thought, not mine—and stopped short on Isa and I.

He knew exactly what we were the minute he saw us. What I found interesting, though, was that it was like his mind went blank for a few seconds before he turned to his "manager" and whispered to him that he would not be doing anything until we were no longer near the front of the store.

 _No witnesses._ Was what he thought.

"Come on, Isa. Let's pay for these and go to the back. I don't think we're going to like our new teacher this year."

She had watched the interaction with her keen eyes. "No, I don't think we will either. I wonder if he'll allow us in his class."

"That's the question, isn't it?"

I paid for our books before we headed back to the door to wait for the rest of our group. Fred and George had decided not to go to the joke shop after all, considering what Ron had done earlier. They wanted to keep an eye on him. I watched Mike while we waited. He was standing with Ron. Mike's thoughts were interesting because it almost seemed that he kept Ron on the periphery, like he was only paying what attention he needed to while focusing on the rest. Similar to a parent concentrating on something but keeping enough of an ear on the toddler talking their ear off.

Once we were out of Lockhart's line of sight—although we could still see him—he stood behind the table to welcome everyone.

There was a photographer pushing people out of the way to take photos, claiming he was from the Daily Prophet in order to excuse his rudeness.

"Hello, everyone! Welcome, welcome to Flourish and Blotts and the signing event for my new book _Magical Me._ " He paused, looking around again, before he narrowed in on someone who was standing back from the front. "Neville Longbottom!"

"Neville Longbottom," the reporter hissed. He grabbed Neville by the arm and dragged him into the photo with Lockhart.

"Oh, no. Poor Neville. He has to be hating this," Isa moaned

Neville's thoughts were along the same line until he saw Mike standing near me. _The things I do for Harry. He better be appreciative. Grin and bear it._

"When young Neville stepped into Flourish and Blotts this morning to buy my autobiography"—Neville was subconsciously shaking his head no—" _Magical Me_ , he didn't know he'd be walking out of here with my entire works, free of charge!"

After a few photos had been taken, Lockhart pushed Neville off to the side to continue getting his accolades. Neville walked away with his arms full of books that he needed but didn't want to get the way he had. He had just about reached us when we heard a snide voice behind us.

"Ah, Longbottom. Can't even go into a bookstore without getting on the front page."

We turned to find Draco with a sneer on his face but apologies in his thoughts. I gave him a subtle nod to let him know I understood what he was doing.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Ginny stood up for Neville because he had stopped behind our group. Isa was hanging onto my hand to stop herself from saying something. She knew Draco was faking it for his father—something I think we'd have to explain to Neville at least—because Daddy Malfoy wasn't far away.

"Got yourself a girlfriend?" Draco asked with his mouth twisted up in a smirk. Ginny's face burned bright red, but what was funny was it wasn't the thought of Neville being her boyfriend but that Draco thought she had one. She didn't want him thinking that.

"Now, now, Draco. There's no need to be like that." Malfoy senior pushed his son out of the way. "Besides, we don't associate with the likes of these."

"Like what?" I asked. "Magical beings? Mythical ones? Or ones who aren't neck deep in the dark arts?"

"No, you brat," Lucius snapped, losing his temper. "Half-breeds, muggleborns, and abominations like you." He pushed my shoulder with his cane. "And then there are the pure bloods who seem to not know how to be … wizards." He picked up the books in Ginny's cauldron.

"We clearly have different meanings of the word wizard, Mr. Malfoy." Fred and George stepped up behind their sister.

 _Whatever happens, it's starting today. I don't know what it is yet, but I know it begins today,_ Draco thought to me.

Again, I nodded subtly.

"Clearly," Lucius sneered. "Secondhand books, tattered robes. You could all be so much more." He dumped the books back into Ginny's cauldron.

It was Percy who actually snorted. "And be like you? No, thank you."

"Come along, Draco. We don't need to be here." Lucius and Draco left Flourish and Blotts and made their way down Diagon Alley.

"I really don't like that man," Isa stated.

"Understatement!" Hermione sang back, causing us all to snicker at her. "Let's go wait for the others at the ice cream shoppe across the way. It looks like Esme, Jasper, and Molly are going to be a while."

Isa and I led the way with the others following behind us. We even managed to keep in our surprise when Harry and Ron came along as well, even though they sat off to the side by themselves.

Shane and Jacob were talking to the proprietor to see if they could get some of the ice cream in tubs rather than having to come and get it in cones all the time. It didn't seem like they were having much luck.

I was just watching people walk around buying their supplies and keeping an eye on Isa through her thoughts when I almost felt her eyes roll; she rolled them that hard. I turned to see what she was looking at only to discover her reading _Voyages with Vampires_ by _Gilderoy Lockhart._

She must have sensed me looking at her because she looked up at me before answering my inquisitive look. _He really didn't "Voyage with Vampires,"_ she snorted in her thoughts. _If he was this annoying with a traditional vampire, they would have eaten him. No questions answered._

I snorted out loud. "I can't wait to get home to read them."

~*~UHS~*~

I put down the last of Lockhart's books with a snort. There was something off about both them and the man who had written them. To me, they screamed fake, that he didn't do the deed himself. In fact, it was something I had vowed to prove while I was at Hogwarts this year. I was sure he didn't deserve the accolades that he received.

"So, what did you think?" Jasper asked as he had read Hermione's copies when she was done.

I looked at him before I shook my head. "There is something off about them. The books and the man."

Emmett walked in at that point. "I agree," he stated, shaking one of Isa's. "I can't see any creature taking his attitude in the book and not attacking him. He's so rude sometimes that he puts my thoughtless comments to shame."

Jasper nodded in agreement. "So, what do we do about it?"

"I think, while we're at Hogwarts, we all keep an eye on him. His thoughts, his classes, and his actions. Take note of everything because if he's taking credit for other people's work then he needs to be punished for it."

Emmett and Jasper agreed with me. We devised a plan to do just that, keeping an eye on the man while still doing our everyday tasks. Dumbledore had advised Emmett a few days ago that while Lord Voldemort was still around, he wanted his protection in the woods, only this time he was going to be the Assistant Gamekeeper to Hagrid. That meant Emmett would be out in the open and able to attend the Quidditch matches with the rest of us. He was so happy about that, more than anything else.

Esme flew in the front door just as we'd finished discussing this year and how Jasper was looking forward to teaching. "What are you doing just sitting there, Edward?" she exclaimed. "You leave for Hogwarts in two days. Don't you have packing to do?"

I looked at Esme. She seemed more anxious than she was last year, and I wondered whether that had to do with the fact that there would be teaching practical instead of just theory.

"I'm all packed, Mom," I said to get her to focus; her mind was all over the place. "Isa's just put the last of her things in her trunk, and Hermione's about to start. We're all good, I promise."

"And those books?" She pointed at the ones we just finished.

"Will be going in right now," I stated before using my speed to pick them up from where Jasper, Emmett, and I had set them and ran them up the stairs to put them in their rightful places. Sometimes, vampire speed was still faster than magic. It caused Emmett and Jasper to laugh, at least. Well, that was before she laid into them about being ready to go too.

Isa was listening intently while Esme was berating Jasper and Emmett before she turned to me. "Is Mum okay?"

I nodded with a small laugh. "She's fine; she's just more anxious this year because she's going to have an actual practical part to her classes. Mom just wants everything to run well, and she's taking that anxiousness out on us."

 _Oh,_ Isa murmured in her thoughts. "Do you think a distraction is in order?"

"No. She's too immersed in having everything right. She'll get over it by tomorrow … probably."

Isa laughed while she closed her trunk and levitated it to sit with mine by the door of our suite.

" _Bella_!" Hermione yelled up the stairs.

" _What?"_

" _I need your help with my trunk!"_

Isa rolled her eyes before she walked out the door, yelling down to Hermione that she was coming.

" _No yelling_ _,_ _children!"_ Esme yelled from their bedroom, which caused Emmett, Jasper, and I to snicker. Considering she just did what she was yelling at them for!

It was going to be a long two days.

~*~UHS~*~

On the first of September, we were once again ushered into King's Cross Station. The only problem was because Esme was so anxious she made us leave nearly two hours early. Despite the scenic route Emmett took to London, we were still extremely early for the Hogwarts Express.

 _At least, we'll have our pick of cabins._ Isa sighed as she looked up at me. We were dawdling our way through King's Cross, just trying to waste time.

"This is true."

Hermione, Isa, and I made our way down to the area between platforms nine and ten, only to find that it was a little busy. We made our way to the correct upright while we kept an eye on all the muggles who were around us. Once I was sure no one was watching us, I ushered Hermione then Isa through. I had to wait a few minutes because I had garnered the attention of a few young women making their way past. Once they were gone, I pushed through the wall and stepped out onto the platform of one of the best trains in the entire world.

The Hogwarts Express.

I followed the excited giggling of Isa and Hermione down the platform to drop off our trunks at the luggage carriage before we climbed aboard the train. Isa was right; we would have our pick of cabins because there weren't many students here yet. We found a cabin we were comfortable in and settled in to wait for the rest of our friends to show up.

~*~UHS~*~

I had noticed when platform nine and three-quarters had started filling up due to the thoughts that were swirling around; what I hadn't noticed, however, was the time. Isa, Hermione, and I had been reading and not paying attention to our surroundings; it wasn't until Fred, George, and Ginny stumbled into our cabin that I really took notice.

"Hey, guys …" I trailed off as I took in what they looked like. "Why the long faces?"

"Ugh, we were almost late because Ron was chucking a tantrum!" Ginny threw her hands up in the air. "I don't want to do this! Do I have to take that? Why haven't you packed my trunk, yet, Mum?"

"Late?" Isa asked.

We looked around the cabin like it was going to give us a clue to the time. It was when we looked out the window and heard the clock chime eleven that we realized they hadn't been kidding.

"So, if you guys are here … where are Ron and Mike?" Hermione asked.

"They were right behind … us …" Fred started as he got up to look out the door while the rest of us made our way to the window. We frantically looked through the crowd of parents waiting on the platform, but we couldn't see them as the train started to move. I even spread out my mindreading to see if I could catch a glimpse of their thoughts.

I couldn't hear anything from them. Nothing but endless thoughts from concerned and happy parents that their kids were going off to school.

Just as we pulled out of the station, I did catch one set of thoughts that didn't belong there. They were fuzzy because I didn't have time to tune into them properly, but they were there nonetheless.

 _Dobby failed …_ then the creature would bang his head on the wall before he muttered something else that I couldn't quite catch before we were out of range.

George looked up at me. "Did you hear them?"

"No. Nothing. And from what I can hear, they aren't on the train either."

Everyone's mouths dropped open, but it was Hermione who recovered first. "Where the heck are they?"

"I have no idea."

For a while, we sat in stunned silence, for Mike and Ron were not on the train, and we didn't know how they were going to get to Hogwarts.

After a while, Isa broke the silence. "So Ron's behavior has been getting worse?"

Fred and George snorted while Ginny just shook her head. "He's unbelievable. In fact, I'd say he's worse than Percy."

"And that's saying something!" Fred and George chanted before Fred continued. "Because Percy's a prat!"

I chuckled at that description. From what I've read and experienced around Percy, prat was the easiest description. Although, he had many qualities I admire. He was determined, hardworking, and a go-getter. It was how he went about it and his attitude that made him unbearable to be around.

Well that and he was trying to hide the fact that he had a girlfriend. In his attempt to be stealthy, he was actually being more obnoxious, and it hadn't gone unnoticed either.

"Ron seems to think that because he is another Weasley he's entitled to all that his brothers have done before him," Isa started. "He doesn't think he has to study, he's trying to skate by, and I have a feeling it's going to backfire in a huge way."

"Why is he keeping Mike away from us?" The twins looked to me for the answer.

I shrugged. "It could be many things, but he's being controlling and borderline abusive. It's something we're going to have to keep an eye on because if he isolates Mike anymore, we're going to have to step in."

Ginny, Fred, and George nodded somberly. They knew something was going on but didn't think it had gotten as bad as it had. The cabin fell quiet so Isa, Hermione, and I went back to reading our books—well, I pretended to read because I was gathering information—because the Weasleys thought about everything that had happened over the summer.

It seemed Harry wasn't the only one Ron had tried his controlling act on. He had tried all his siblings, with varying degrees of luck, before he moved on to Molly and Arthur. It was there he met the biggest resistance. While they wouldn't stand for his behavior, they didn't punish him for it either, which didn't help. He wasn't learning from it because they weren't teaching him. Molly and Arthur had done so well with the others that I was surprised they were letting Ron get away with it, and that made me wonder. Was it because the other kids were so well-behaved—even Percy, to a point—which made it harder for Molly and Arthur to punish him or because he intimidated them even when they tried not to show it.

"Has he always been this way?" The question slipped out before I had conscious thought about it.

I watched as the Weasleys thought about it. "No, I don't think so," Fred answered cautiously. "He was always a little more demanding and mean than the rest of us, but this change in behavior has been shocking."

"Hmm. I'll admit that I'm concerned, more for Mike than anyone else. This behavior only escalates."

That's where the conversation stopped. I could see I had concerned them enough and decided to leave it.

~*~UHS~*~

It was later during the trip that things became interesting. Isa had been dozing, curled up on the bench with her head on my lap, when we both registered a new sound.

She looked up at me with her brows furrowed. _Is that a car?_ I nodded. _Are there any roads out here?_ she asked while she sat up. We both looked out the window, using our enhanced eyesight to check our surroundings. _No, there_ _aren't._ _So why do we hear a car?_

I ranged out my gift to see if I could hear any thoughts from the car. Once I realized who was in the car, I pinched the bridge of my nose. Isa, of course, caught the movement, and it didn't take her long to put it together.

 _Oh, no. Tell me they didn't._ I shook my head because I couldn't do that. _Oh, they are going to be in so much trouble. Let me guess. It was Ron's idea?_ I nodded in agreement. _Damn. Do we tell the others?_ At this, I shrugged. I had no idea what to do at this point. They were going to be lucky when they weren't expelled. Why didn't they just send an owl? Surely, the teachers could have done something to help. Or even all of their parents.

The decision on whether or not to say anything was taken out of our hands when Hermione recognized our silent communication. She looked around before she turned to us. "What's going on?"

Her question caused Fred, George, and Ginny to shift their attention to us while Isa and I looked to each other.

"I'm not sure we should say anything. Plausible deniability and all that," I muttered.

"Plausible what?"

"Deniability," I clarified. "Meaning that you can't get into trouble for knowing, if you don't actually know."

"Okay, yeah, we get that," George said. "But I think we can manage. What's going on?"

With another look at Isa, I sat forward with my arms on my knees. "You know your father's flying car?" I asked and waited until they nodded. "Well, it's currently following us."

Ginny looked confused. "Why would Dad do that?"

"He wouldn't," the twins stated together. "That's the point. It's not Dad, is it?" George asked.

I shook my head, waiting for them to put it together.

Fred groaned first, followed closely by George, then Ginny. "He didn't?"

"He did."

"Why would Ron do this? Or Mike, for that matter?"

Isa snorted. "Mike is easy; he's just going along with this because it's what Ron wants. Plus, he didn't use his brain. Ron on the other hand …"

"Is trying to match up to the legacy his big brothers have created," I finished. "You two in particular." I pointed to Fred and George. "On top of that, from what I can hear of their conversation, the doorway to platform nine and three-quarters closed behind your parents, and they panicked."

Fred and George lowered their heads shamefully. They wouldn't change who they were, but they'd be a little more careful. Ginny shook her head before she lowered it into her hands.

"I don't think it would have made a difference, guys. Ron had big expectations to live up to already just with Bill, Charlie, and Percy. But because you guys are big at school, plus the reputation Isa and I have earned, it's just pushed him closer."

"And I suppose the secret that he keeps about Mike doesn't help either, does it?" The muffled question came from behind Ginny's hands.

I listened carefully to the thoughts swirling around in Ron's brain. I was quiet so long that Ginny looked up from her hands while the others sat still, almost not breathing. "Well?"

I shrugged. "I can't tell because he's not actively thinking on it. But I'll pay more attention from now on."

They nodded but went quiet. I left them to their thoughts. Again, I had dropped a bomb on them, and I hated it. But things had to be done.

From here, though, I didn't know what those things were.

~*~UHS~*~

I didn't hear any thoughts from Ron and Mike once we reached the train station at Hogsmeade. In fact, it seemed they had disappeared from the sky. I noted that Isa had the same thought, and when we looked at each other, we seemed to have a silent conversation. We both decided that if we hadn't heard anything from Mike or Ron by morning, we would both talk to Professor Dumbledore.

We waved at Hagrid as he came stomping down the platform, calling for the first years to follow him down to the boats then looked around to see where we had to go this year to get to the castle. Ginny went to follow him with a big grin on her face.

"This way, guys!" Fred and George called as they made their way through Hogsmeade station and out to a long winding road with carriages pulled by the Thestrals that Emmett had seen last year in the Forbidden Forest.

"Oh, wow, they're stunning," Isa murmured, reaching out to touch one that leaned toward her as we passed further down the line.

"Don't think of taking any home, Isa. We'll have a menagerie of animals by the time we finish school." I chuckled, causing Isa to laugh at me.

Fred looked at us, confused. "What are you talking about? I don't see anything pulling the carriages."

"Really?"

"No," they all stated emphatically; well, all except for Neville. It seemed he could see them. "There's nothing there."

Isa and I looked at each other in confusion; we could clearly see the Thestrals pulling the carriages. Why couldn't anyone else?

"Don't worry. You're not crazy." A soft voice floated out from behind us. I picked up thoughts that were just as soft-spoken. She was thinking about the Thestrals; she could see them. "I see them too."

We turned to look at her only to find a blonde girl who was no taller than Isa or Hermione.

"I'm Luna Lovegood. You're Isabella and Edward?" she asked, holding out her hand.

"We are," we replied as we shook her hand.

"They won't see them." She shook her head as we all climbed aboard one carriage. We were squished, but we made it work. "And they should be grateful."

"Why?" Isa asked quietly. I could tell from her thoughts that she felt a kindred spirit in this strange, quiet girl, and I could see that Luna felt the same, although, she didn't know what it meant.

"Because they haven't seen or lived through death. That's why they can't see them. Edward being a vampire has survived death. Isabella, you witnessed the death of Professor Quirrell last year, if the rumors are true. It's why you can see them."

"Oh," we both muttered. "Please, Luna, call me Bella." For the remainder of the trip, Luna, Bella, and a slightly reluctant Hermione continued to get to know one another. It seemed we had pulled another friend into our ragtag bunch.

But, it would be a while before we could reveal all we knew, if at all.

~*~UHS~*~

We made it through the sorting ceremony. To our delight and relief, Ginny was sorted into Gryffindor, too. We were once again treated to one of Dumbledore's nonsense speeches before the feast appeared on the table. Just when we were filling our plates, a young boy of just eleven ran up to our table with a big camera in his hands. "Hi, Neville, my name's Colin Creevy, can I have your picture?"

"Oh," Neville shuddered. He still hadn't gotten used to being famous. It took a toll on him, and I knew he'd be relieved when Harry could reveal himself. "Uh … sure." Neville smiled while I took the picture of them. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Thank you!" Colin called before he ran back to his friends.

We shook our heads and continued filling our plates; our group was silently eating when Isa and I picked up the sound of a car coming closer to the grounds.

 _Oh, no. They can't! This won't end well!_ she almost shouted at me when she locked eyes with me.

"Oh, they are," I disagreed at vampire pitch. "And it's not going to end well."

 _What do you mean?_ "

I winced when the car landed in the Whomping Willow after Ron had tried to stop it by hitting it with his wand, causing his wand to snap in half.

The Whomping Willow looked, to me, like it had been on the grounds for more years than anyone should remember. It was a large tree, much larger than other species of willows I had seen; the trunk was gnarled and knotted, almost making it look like two trees had grown and twisted around one another to make one large tree. Some of the branches were thick with large knots, making them look like fists while others were spindly with sharp leaves that would scratch and cut like the whips on a cat-o-nine tails. When the willow was happy and content the branches all reached up toward the sky; it's when she was upset that you had to watch out. She used those thick branches as hammers, slamming down onto the object of its annoyance, and she used the whip-like ones for exactly that. Whipping, scratching, and tearing at everything she could get her branches on. Funny enough, that tree was one of the scariest things I had ever encountered.

I prayed to any deity I could think of that the wonderfully scary tree wouldn't do too much damage to the Land Rover. I watched in abject horror—through Mike and Ron—as the Whomping Willow took out its frustration on the car at being woken up.

The branches swung around wildly, hitting different parts, smashing, bending, and crushing the car itself until it got one good whack on the trunk, pushing it out of the tree and forcing it onto the ground.

Emmett and Rose were going to be furious. I hoped we managed to get the Land Rover home so they could get to work on it as soon as possible.

 _TEDDY!_ Isa yelled in her thoughts, bringing me out of what was happening on the grounds. _What's going on?_

"Ah, they've landed?" It came out sounding more like a question. Of course, Isa picked up on that and gave me a look that said explain. "They landed in the Whomping Willow."

Isa's head fell into her hands. _Oh, no! Is everything okay?_

Before I could answer Hermione caught Isa's movement. "Is everything okay, Bella?"

"Mmhmm," she mumbled. "Headache."

I snorted quietly.

 _Shut up, you. What's happening?_

I leaned over to rub her back while I whispered in her ear what was happening outside. "The tree just pushed them out of the branches and is currently chasing them across the grounds, as far as it can reach anyway." I paused for a moment, grateful they were out of harm's way. "The car has stopped in the middle of the open space and is currently throwing Ron and all his things out, quite literally, while it's letting Mike out with care.

"The car slid Mike's seat out the door and has tipped it until he was standing and then opened the back door and is doing the same with his trunk and Hedwig." I watched with growing trepidation as it closed all the doors and the trunk and took off into the forest. "It left! It just closed up and drove off into the forest!" I blurted out loud.

"Ow, Teddy, that was my ear!"

I kissed it in apology while Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny all asked me, "What closed up and drove into the forest?"

I looked around to make sure we hadn't garnered any more attention than necessary, but the only person paying attention was Neville, and he'd been filled in quietly over dinner. "Your father's car just ejected Ron and Mike out onto the lawn, closed up, and drove off into the Forbidden Forest. I hope it gets home because, thanks to them, it now needs extensive bodywork. Ron landed it in the Whomping Willow!"

All three Weasleys groaned in defeat, wondering when Ron was going to stop his stupidity, although George didn't think it was possible.

Neville watched with interest before turning back to me. "What's going on now?"

Watching, again through Mike, I narrated as they made their way across the grounds and into the castle where all the bags and trunks were stored until the house elves transported them to the dormitories.

"They've made it to the Grand Staircase, they're almost in the … damn it," I hissed.

"What?" they all whisper shouted.

"They've been intercepted by Snape. He's taking them to the dungeons instead of to Dumbledore's office, or even McGonagall's. We've got to let them know." I looked up and around, wondering how we were going to alert them both.

I had just run through a list of options, not even remembering who was at the teachers' table, when Isa started talking rapidly while looking in that direction.

"Mummy, have you been listening?" We all looked in Esme's direction to see her nod. "We need Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall to know, now, please." Esme nodded again before getting up from her chair and walking down the table to Professor Dumbledore.

They all turned back to me with varying degrees of interest while Dumbledore and McGonagall left the teachers' table and made their way out of the Great Hall.

"Snape already has them in the dungeon and is starting to berate them. Telling them that if they had been in Slytherin, they would be on the train home tonight. He's not happy that they had 'attacked' a tree that has been on the grounds 'since before they were born,'" which caused us all to snort because everything on these grounds had been here since before we were born. "He continued on but has been interrupted by Dumbledore. Ron thinks they're going to get expelled, but McGonagall has told them otherwise. Although the question has now been raised as to why they didn't just send an owl to let them know what was going on so they could get them to the school another way."

It was Ginny who asked the question, "And what did Ron have to say to that?"

I snorted out loud this time. "What could he say? He didn't use his brain. Well, he did, but he wanted to stand out and be a hero to the entire school population. He can't say that so he didn't say anything at all. At this point, there will be detentions to be served, doing what and with whom remains to be seen."

A conversation at the teachers' table caught Isa's and my attention. It seemed our brand new DADA teacher was quite unhappy that not only were there two half-breed students in the school—that were going to be way smarter than him. _His words, not mine—_ but there were also three more in the teaching staff. Professor Lockhart was having a bit of a whine to, of all people, Hagrid, who was also a half-breed himself. Hagrid was quietly seething, trying very hard not to do something to embarrass not only himself and Dumbledore by saying something to this blowhard. Again, his words, not mine. Not that I didn't agree with him.

"He's going to be trouble this year," Isa murmured to me.

"Yup. And I don't trust a word out of his mouth. The first lesson with him will be very interesting."

She smirked. "Want to bet he won't teach the class with us in it?"

I chuckled. "That's a sucker's bet. He'll have Dumbledore there within five minutes of us walking in the classroom. Wonder what we'll be doing instead."

"Hopefully someone else will teach us what we'll be learning this year. Or we could probably teach ourselves and just have Dumbledore tell us what assignments we need to do and hand them to him."

"Guess we'll find out later."

Everyone fell silent as Professor Dumbledore walked back into the Great Hall and up to the podium in front of the teachers' table.

 _Where are Mike and Ron?_ Isa looked around.

"Still with McGonagall. They're having their first round of detention and also eating their dinner, with no dessert."

Isa nodded as Dumbledore started to speak. "Once again, welcome to another year at Hogwarts. A special welcome to our first years and a reminder that the Forbidden Forest is exactly that, forbidden for all students. I hope you've enjoyed your dinner, but now it is time for bed because tomorrow is the start of a new school year!" he clapped his hands, just once, and the food, cutlery, and plates disappeared only to be replaced with our schedules.

I looked down at it to see it was similar to last year's before I stood and helped Isa from her seat to head off to the common room. Ginny rolled her eyes as she stood because we all heard Percy start his spiel to the first years about following him to our dormitory. She wandered over to him to wait while the rest of us walked out of the Great Hall and up the Grand Staircase, waiting while they moved around before ascending farther to get to the Fat Lady portrait—the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room.

The portrait was already open when we reached her because there was a steady stream of Gryffindors making their way inside to greet friends they hadn't seen over the summer. Fred and George made their way over to some of theirs, Neville went and sat with Dean and Seamus to at least say hello, while Isa, Hermione, and I sat down in the area that was still set aside for me. We were quiet as we people-watched, greeting those who came over to say hello but waiting for the inevitable. It had gotten around somehow that Mike and Ron had arrived spectacularly, and many of the people in our house were excited to congratulate them, which meant the Common Room was fuller than usual.

Once all the Gryffindors were inside, the Fat Lady swung closed. Just about everyone was waiting on excited pins and needles for Mike and Ron to arrive; it was almost more than those of us in the know could stand.

"I think I'm going to meet them outside on the stairs," Hermione mumbled. "Just let me know when they're on their way up."

Before we'd even read the books that were required for this year's DADA class, Isa had decided she was going to get some of the class books for the second year from the previous years. She wanted to make sure we were going to get a thorough education this year, even if it wasn't from Lockhart. So while we waited for Mike and Ron to make it to the Common Room, she pulled out one of them and continued from the place where she last stopped. Some of the spells were going to be intriguing, but what I found more fascinating were the large array of creatures that were found to be dark, even if they looked endearing.

I thought it best that I started to monitor the thoughts around the castle until I could sneak away later to the Room of Requirement to set up for my potions. Hermione was looking through her transfiguration book while I leaned back in my recliner, closed my eyes, and just listened to all the thoughts running around the castle. I let them become background noise unless a word or a collection of words piqued my interest, but other than that, I just kept quiet.

 _Teddy?_

I hummed to let Isa know I had heard her.

 _Everything okay?_

"Yup. Just listening."

 _Okay. Did Kreacher make it okay?_

I roamed my hearing over the kitchen and the quarters where the house elves stayed and found Kreacher there, unpacking his belongings in the little room that Dumbledore had set aside for him.

"He's here, sweet girl. Getting all settled in."

 _Thank you._ I hummed, again, in acknowledgement before I went back to listening. I could hear Athan and Saffy in the Owlery, chattering away at each other. Saffy had become much stronger and confident over the summer because Isa and Hermione continued to work with her. She was so confident that she was even back talking him, and Athan loved every minute of it; they had truly become like siblings. I could hear Hedwig among the owls, but what I found interesting, though, was that none of the owls belonging to the school seemed to have any thoughts. I tried to fine-tune my mind reading but still couldn't find them. I frowned because, unless they weren't owls, they should have thoughts. It was something I would have to look into when I had the time.

I heard the moment Ron and Mike were dismissed from Professor McGonagall's room and told to go straight to the Common Room. I opened my eyes and looked over to Hermione to find that she was already looking at me. I nodded slightly to the portrait to indicate they were on their way up; she nodded back before she stood and made her way out. It was almost funny that everyone stopped talking and watched her walk across the room and out through the portrait.

"Back to what you were doing people. Nothing is going to happen," I lightly growled at the onlookers, scaring some of the younger ones.

Not one of the older ones believed me. They knew we were all friends, and if Hermione was leaving that meant something was going to happen, but they went back to their conversations all the same. I sat up and looked over at Isa, who was not really reading. I could tell she was listening intently to Mike and Ron coming up the stairs.

We knew the minute they met Hermione out on the steps because they stopped moving and speaking and almost stopped breathing.

"What on God's green earth did you think you were doing?" Hermione whisper-yelled at them. "There are so many things that could have gone wrong, more than I can point out right now!"

They both lowered their heads at the berating she was giving them. But the only one who was even remotely remorseful was Mike. Ron was looking forward to what was going to happen when he walked through the portrait to the Common Room; he'd overheard some of the teachers in the hall talking about what had happened, so he knew that everyone else would know too.

When Hermione took a breath, Mike spoke up quickly, hoping to end the tirade she was on.

"We're sorry, Hermione," he began, Ron nodding even though she could tell he wasn't entirely. "We panicked. We'd followed the rest of Ron's family into King's Cross and waited until they'd all entered Platform Nine and Three-Quarters before we attempted. I went first, Ron right behind me, but we crashed into the upright. The gateway had sealed itself! We didn't know if Arthur and Molly would be able to make it out, if it would open again, and we just panicked!"

"And the reason you didn't contact Shane or Jacob? Or Dumbledore, or any one of the teachers here?"

"Because we didn't think, okay?" Ron almost shouted at her.

 _He better watch his tone,_ Isa growled in her thoughts, causing me to nod in agreement with her. Ron was stepping on a very fine line.

"We did exactly what Mike said and panicked. I remembered the car, and we just ran with it. We've already been scolded by Professors Snape and McGonagall; we don't need it from our friends too."

"Mmhmm. I'm sure," Hermione murmured. _Because with friends like you, who needs enemies._

Hermione spun and led the way to the portrait. " _Wattlebird,_ " she told the Fat Lady loud enough for Ron and Mike to hear before she walked through. "Your adoring public." She made a show of bowing and holding out her hand toward all of the boys who were in the Common Room, who cheered like they were at a football game when Ron and Mike walked through the door.

Isa sneered in disgust at the accolades they were getting before she got up and stormed up the stairs, Hermione and Ginny close behind. Fred and George watched and waited for their turn with the unlikely heroes; they weren't sure whether to joke or make their anger obvious. In the end, it didn't matter. Mike could see the anger rolling off Fred, George, and me in waves. Ron was as oblivious as always.

"Hey Fred, George! Did you hear?" Ron called out as he walked up to his brothers.

"We did," they said together. "Was it everything you thought it would be?"

Ron spread his arms wide to the cheers that were still happening. "Yeah, it was bloody brilliant!"

Mike, by this stage, had started slipping away from Ron. He looked at me before dashing upstairs and nearly bowling Percy over in his haste.

"All right everyone! As prefect, I'm telling you that enough is enough. Time for bed!" Percy stated as he walked down the last of the stairs. "All of you, bedtime; we have classes in the morning."

Ron went to open his mouth but finally caught the look on my face, as well as Percy's, and decided to go and regale his bedmates with what had happened instead. But he couldn't stop himself from having the last words.

He stood on the steps, threw his arms in the air, and called out, "Thank you, thank you! I'll be here all year!"

Fred and George snorted. "Mum is gonna fillet him alive." Then they stood and went upstairs.

Tomorrow was going to be interesting.

~*~UHS~*~

After a long night of setting up the room that the Room of Requirement created for me, I came back to the Common Room to find Isa asleep in my recliner. I wondered briefly why she didn't call out for me or come to find me in my potions room while I picked her up and placed her on my lap as I sat down.

It was still early so I decided to wait a while before I intended to wake her and just relax as I listened to other parts of the castle start to wake. I could hear when the house elves got up and started preparing breakfast in the Great Hall—Kreacher among them in his element—I could also hear when Pokey made his way down to the dungeons to keep an eye on Snape and what he did during his morning routine. Hagrid was one of the first teachers awake as he headed out to feed and care for all of the magical creatures on the grounds, including the owls, both the school ones and otherwise.

Athan was out stalking a field mouse for both him and Saffy. They'd not only taken on the role of siblings but he looked after her like a big brother should. Although, she was never going to learn to hunt on her own if he kept doing it for her. I snorted internally; we may have to stage an intervention to make sure she could fend for herself.

When the other teachers and some of the students started waking, I woke Isa gently and shuffled her off to the showers to get ready for the day. I'd ask her later why she'd slept in my chair.

By the time Isa had made it back from her shower, dressed and gathered her books, the rest were ready to go, even Ron, who was still going on and on about last night. I could sense that the others were getting sick of hearing about it, but none more so than my little girl. I slowed down a little so we would lag at the back of the group.

 _What are you doing, Teddy? I'm hungry._ She pulled on my hand. _I want to sit next to Hermione._

"Wait a minute, sweet girl. Why are you so angry? Why did you sleep in my chair without calling for me?"

Her shoulders slumped a little before she stood and looked up at me. "They both could have gotten expelled!" she hissed in a whisper. "They didn't use their stupid brains, and then they think it's all fun and games because they didn't get a great deal of punishment, yet. They brag about it and revel in the accolades that are handed out by equally stupid people and then …" She took a huge breath in before continuing. "And then, stupid girls wake up in the middle of the night and gossip about it or them. Like they created the stupid Philosopher's Stone or they invented something to make our lives better! Even if Hermione proved otherwise!"

 _Oh. I must have missed something last night._ I reached over to settle my hands on her shoulders to calm her down. "What happened? I was in the Room of Requirement last night and was concentrating, so I didn't hear anything."

"I wondered why you didn't come. Although I didn't call you because it wasn't important; I just needed out of that room." I nodded to show I was following when she stopped to look at me again. "We went to sleep like normal, which you probably stayed for?" I nodded again to answer her question. "Well, everything was fine to start with, but in the middle of the night, I kept hearing all these whispering voices, the other girls, and then I heard Hermione arguing with them, and I just couldn't take it anymore! I sat up and told them they were all being stupid and to shut up so the smart ones could sleep, then I stormed out of the dorm and set myself up in your chair. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have said that."

I pulled her into my arms, trying to comfort her. "You don't have to apologize. I can understand that it would have been frustrating for you. What you have to remember is that girls and boys your age usually worship people who do stupid things like what Ron and Mike have done, much like they do with Fred and George. You and Hermione are much smarter and have had to do more growing up than a lot of them, so what they find entertaining, you are going to find ridiculous."

"Do I have to apologize to them?"

I smirked into her hair. "No, Isa. Not if you don't want to."

She nodded, grabbed my hand, and then towed me into the Great Hall. Hermione had saved the two seats next to her on her left side so we could sit with her; Ginny was on her other side. There was something slightly different about her, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I'd keep an eye on her too. I didn't want her getting into trouble.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Hermione asked as she sat down.

Isa nodded but said no more, causing Hermione to look over at me. "She'll be fine; just give her some time to calm down."

Hermione nodded and turned back to the table to start picking at her breakfast. Isa picked up some pancakes and juice while I went for the eggs and bacon and a coffee.

We looked up when Ron swore quietly under his breath, only to see he had his wand held in front of him. He had found a roll of spello tape somewhere and was trying to repair what was left of it. He didn't seem to be having a lot of luck.

He groaned. "Say it. I'm doomed, aren't I?"

"You're doomed," Mike and Neville said together. There wasn't a whole lot behind it though.

Breakfast was pretty quiet after that. Isa and Hermione were tired, Mike was feeling really remorseful, while Ron was just keeping quiet. He was still happy about what had happened even though he had detention for an undetermined time and that Professor McGonagall was going to write home to his mother. He didn't think he would get into too much trouble because Fred and George had done some pretty big pranks, and they had never had a problem.

We were nearing the end of breakfast when the mail owls started delivering. The majority of us were just having the Daily Prophet delivered because it was the first day of school. _I snorted._ Well that, and some of us had family working at the school and could bring anything we wanted or needed with them. But it was the last owl that flew in that caught everyone's attention.

It was Lily, the beautiful barn owl we had bought the Weasleys for Christmas last year. But it was what was in her talons that caught Neville's attention. "Oh, no. Ron, you've got yourself a Howler."

"A what?" I asked. I'd never heard of it.

"A Howler. It's a magical letter. But I think you're better off seeing it in action rather than me explaining it." We turned to look at the letter that had landed innocuously in Ron's hands. "You'd better open it, Ron. My gran sent one to me once, when I refused to open it, it followed me around, shouting at me, until I did."

Everyone around watched in fascination as Ron continued to stare at it. His thoughts had changed; he wasn't quite so smug anymore. He finally realized he may be in some very serious trouble.

It was his next thought that caught my attention as he looked at Mike. _If I'm in trouble, why isn't he? This isn't fair! I shouldn't be the only one who will have to pay._

It was after that thought that he lifted the flap on the Howler. It was quiet for all of one second before, " _RONALD WEASLEY!"_ was screeched from the letter as it flew up from Ron's hand to form a mouth to shout at Ron. I was taken aback, as was Isa and Hermione. Even Mike was looking shocked. It just kept going, though. " _How dare you steal that car? Your father is facing a hearing and disciplinary action at work, and it is_ entirely _your fault. You will go to your classes for the first day, but by the end, you will be on the train home for suspension. Your father and I will be there by mid-afternoon to bring you home."_

The letter turned around to face Ginny. _"Oh_ _,_ _and, Ginny, congratulations on making it into Gryffindor; your father and I are so proud._ " It spun around to blow a rather large raspberry at Ron before ripping itself into pieces.

"Wow," I murmured. "I hope I never, ever get one of those."

 _I am in so much trouble,_ Ron thought before looking around the Great Hall. "What?" he snarled. "There's nothing to see here." With that, he stood and stormed out without even a backward glance at the rest of us. But his parting thought was telling. _Why didn't Harry get into trouble? It makes me furious that I'm getting the blame! He was there too. Shit will hit the fan if I'm the only one._

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **So ... let me know what you think.**

 **See you guys in a fortnight.**


	3. Chapter Two - An Alliance Of Armor

**Hello everyone! Sorry this one is running a little bit late, but I had dinner with the rents.**

 **Thank you to Pienuniek and Sally for all their hard work, none of this would be possible without them.**

 **Twilight and Harry Potter belong to SM and JK Rowling, respectively. No copyright infringement is intended.**

 **Enjoy ...**

* * *

 **Chapter Two – An Alliance of Armor**

Our first lesson was Herbology, and after Ron stormed out, that's where, we assumed, he was headed. The Hufflepuffs followed along behind us, laughing and carrying on in regard to the Howler that Ron had received, and I knew it was going to take a long time for him to live that down.

Ron was there, pacing outside the greenhouses, when we got there. He was still furious, and wouldn't talk to any of us when we tried; he even ignored Mike. I could see he was losing his control, and his cool, and that could be a bad combination for all of us.

Professor Sprout wasn't there when we reached the greenhouses so we took a seat outside to wait for her. It was highly unusual for a teacher to be late for our lessons.

 _Where is she?_ Isa thought to herself as she looked around. Even though she never asked the question, I ranged my gift out to see if I could find out where Professor Sprout was.

She was actually on her way back to the greenhouses, but she was not happy at all. Professor Sprout had been asked by Dumbledore to have a look at the Whomping Willow and treat it for any injuries it may have sustained in its abrupt meeting with the Land Rover last night. It wasn't the fact she had to attend to the tree that was the problem—because she was all about plants—it was because Professor Lockhart had _volunteered_ to give her a hand. From reading her thoughts, I could see that he had been very _helpful_ in tending to the Whomping Willow. While she had been getting cut and hurt by climbing among the branches and trying to bandage the broken and injured ones, Lockhart had been standing off to the side regaling her with tales of how he had taken care of all sorts of exotic plants. Not actually helping her treat the Whomping Willow at all.

When Professor Sprout came into view, I could completely understand her frustration; she was in terrible shape.

"Oh, my goodness. What happened to her?" Isa whispered.

I snickered a little because Professor Sprout was very disheveled. Her hair was all over the place, her clothes were askew, and there were minor cuts and bruises all over her body. "She had a previous engagement."

"With what?"

"Professor Dumbledore asked her to attend to the Whomping Willow, to bandage it up."

It was at the end of my sentence that Lockhart followed Professor Sprout around the corner toward the greenhouses.

Isa snorted. "Well that explains a lot."

 _Ugh, really?_ Lockhart whined. "How can you stand to have those _half-breeds_ in your class? Do you really think they should be at Hogwarts?"

Professor Sprout beamed. She had enjoyed having us in her class last year and couldn't wait to have us again. "Edward and Isabella are two of my very best students. They listen attentively, study hard, and are willing to learn everything I teach them. Last year, they even asked for some extra work because Herbology fascinated them, and I wasn't the only one they asked. If someone asked me for an idea on perfect students, I'd point them in their direction."

Isa flushed and looked down but had a small pride-filled smile on her face while I buried mine in her hair. We had done that last year, when none of our friends were around, because we didn't want there to be even more pressure on the rest of them. We couldn't help that our memories were photographic, or that we had a thirst for knowledge, and Herbology was fascinating; but then, so were a lot of other subjects.

"Hmm. If you say so," Lockhart mumbled. He dumped what he was carrying next to Hermione, who was sitting next to me. "I have to get to my classroom and finish setting up. You can take these in, right?" he asked while looking at me.

"Sure, professor."

Once he turned around to head back to the castle both Isa and I sneered. We really didn't like that man or what he stood for. My aim for this year was to expose that man for who he was. I knew he was a fraud; I just had to prove it.

"Give me a moment, children, and let me clean myself up. Go ahead to greenhouse three, and I'll meet you there," Professor Sprout called over her shoulder. "Please, Mr. Masen, if you could take those boxes with you, I'd appreciate it." She gave me a sympathetic smile, her thoughts revealing that she didn't like that _pompous arse_ any more than most of the teachers did. It made me wonder why Professor Dumbledore hired him.

I would have answered Professor Sprout, but she'd already ambled away. Isa climbed off my lap and waited for me to pick up the box of supplies before we made our way over to the correct greenhouse. When Professor Sprout had straightened herself out, she met us inside. We had already taken positions around the table that had been set with pots with plants inside plus new empty pots.

"Welcome to your second year class. This year, we will be dealing with the theory and practical use of both homegrown and more exotic plants. However, your main grade will be taking care of these plants in front of you. Can anyone tell me what they are by looking at them?"

Three hands shot into the air. Isa's, Hermione's, and mine. Not one of the Hufflepuffs could identify it. Mike and Neville were on the right track but most of the others were way off, but at least, they were trying.

Professor Sprout smiled down at my girl; she wasn't surprised by the three of us at all. "Yes, Miss Swan?"

"This is the Mandrake or Mandragora. Its root looks like a human baby, which are brown, and it has green-brown leaves on its head."

"Thank you, Miss Swan; five points for Gryffindor. Can anyone tell me what it's used for?"

This time it was four hands that shot up into the air. Because when Neville knew what it was, he could tell what it was used for.

"Miss Cullen?"

"When the Mandrake is fully mature, it's the prime ingredient for the Mandrake Restorative Draught. The draught is to cure those who have been petrified and return them to their natural state."

"Very good, Miss Cullen. Another five points for Gryffindor. The cry of a fully-grown Mandrake is fatal to just about anyone who hears it, excluding our resident immortals of course. But because these are young, they'll only knock you unconscious. I've placed earmuffs in front of you; please put them on."

Everyone looked around, gathered the earmuffs, and placed them on. I wasn't sure how this was going to work for Isa and me because our hearing was better than everyone around us.

"What you need to do is grab them around the base of the leaves and pull," Professor Sprout instructed while she pulled the Mandrake out of the pot. The moment it was in the air, it started squalling. Isa and I cringed because, even with the earmuffs, the sound was piercing. "Then you put it in the new pot and cover it with soil; once it's covered, it'll stop yelling." We heard a thud and spun around to find Ron on the floor. "Looks like Weasley's been neglecting his earmuffs."

Seamus shook his head. "No, ma'am. He just fainted."

Professor Sprout shook her hand. "Oh well, never mind. Off you go."

Every person around the greenhouse grabbed ahold of the plant in front of them before giving it a yank and pulling them out of their pots. The only ones who didn't were Isa and me. Because the minute they were all out of their pots, they all started squalling, and it was just too much. We slammed our hands over the earmuffs, but it didn't help; it was too many at too high a pitch, and it all built up until I lashed out in the only way I knew how.

I let out a ferocious growl, one that was loud enough to rattle the windows, scare just about everyone out of their skin, wake Ron up from his dead faint and, thankfully, silence the plants.

"Thank goodness," Isa panted from next to me on the floor. "I thought my ears were going to bleed."

I reached over, checking just to make sure, even though I was positive she was using it as a figure of speech.

"I'm fine, Teddy." She sighed but let me check her over anyway.

I looked up to see Professor Sprout fixing herself, yet again, well her hat anyway. "I apologize, professor."

"No; no need. I should have thought about your sensitive hearing. I didn't know about Miss Swan's. Is she okay?"

I nodded then helped Isa from the floor. "We're fine. Please, can we continue?"

All the other students were standing there with their Mandrakes in their hands, well most of them; some had dropped theirs into their pots.

"Of course, of course. Children, back to your Mandrakes. Let's get them repotted!"

For the rest of the lesson, everyone and everything was quiet. We were able to repot the Mandrakes without further noise, and it was a blessing. The only noises I heard were the repotting and the scared thoughts of most of the students; I had really done a number on them with my growl. I hadn't meant to scare them, but I supposed that it could be a blessing too. It would mean that none of these _children_ would ever entertain the idea of trying anything with Isa, either.

It wasn't until we were making our way to our next lesson that Isa voiced the question she had been contemplating. "Why did Ron faint?" She looked up at me as we walked.

"I think that Howler he received from Molly finally made him realize he was teetering on dangerous ground and that he was going to be in some serious trouble. He was furious after, thinking that he shouldn't be the only one in trouble, and it just snowballed. He'd worked himself up so much that, by the time the Mandrake started it's yelling, he was just overwhelmed and bang! Down he went."

Isa nodded. "Served him right then." And that's all she said on the subject matter, not that anyone in our little group disagreed with her, but they thought she was being a little cold. Well, all but Hermione. She had seen Isa's reaction the night before and was in complete agreement.

~*~UHS~*~

Our last class for the day was going to be Transfiguration. From what I had read in the other students' minds, it was going to be a continuation from last year. Professor McGonagall wasn't pulling any punches. Only this time, we weren't working just on inanimate objects; we were going to be transfiguring what seemed to be real animals.

We were met by the faint sound of squeaking when we walked into the classroom. Looking around, we saw that on each desk was a decent-sized rat, but what I found odd was that they were just sitting there. Most rats, or rodents of any kind, tended to run when there were people around; these ones were sitting there like fat, happy, furry lumps.

"Take a seat, please," Professor McGonagall called from the front of the classroom.

As we walked and sat in similar places as last year, I opened my mind like Cortesia had taught me to do. She told me that while I would only be able to hear the thoughts of sentient beings, there would always be a hum, or an undercurrent, to all animals. These looked like rats, smelt like rats, but they certainly weren't rats like we had in the fields at home. Those vermin had an undercurrent that eluded thoughts, but these had just blank, empty spots in the place where their thoughts normally emanated from.

"Good afternoon, class." Professor McGonagall paused while we returned the greeting. "We will be starting exactly where we left off last year. Most of you were successful in turning inanimate objects into other inanimate objects, your matchsticks into needles for example. Today, though, we are moving on to turning animals into water goblets." McGonagall continued to move around the room until she was back in the front of the room, standing in front of our desk, more specifically Ron's. "You tap the animal you wish to change three times and say _'Vera Verto.'_ Like this." She tapped the bird she had on a stand three times with her wand. "One … two … three. _Vera Verto._ "

We watched in amazement as a white flash came out of the end of her wand and hit the raven square in the chest. It shone white for a second before it transformed into an absolutely beautiful glass goblet. It had gold trim, an inch wide, around the brim and then gold tint throughout the glass, all the way to the bottom of the stem.

"Wow …" Isa whispered. "That is some seriously stunning magic, professor."

"Thank you, Miss Swan. Let's start with you, Mr. Weasley."

Ron picked up his wand with the tape holding the pieces together, looked around a little helplessly, and then tapped his rat three times. "Vera Verto."

A green light shot out of the end of his wand, hitting the rat in the middle of its back. The rat lit up green, then sat up straight. Its waist shrunk to be almost as thin as a stem with his head in the air. The poor thing started squeaking incessantly and tried to run away; instead though, it just seemed to topple over and land on its back. The part that it landed on turned square, and it was unable to roll over to get back up. It was essentially stuck on its back like a turtle.

"You need to replace that wand, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall stated with an air. "It fires green when a spell isn't focused enough, or it's going to backfire. For now, yours is backfiring. Okay, everyone, your turn! I want to see your first go before you move on. This way, we can assess what you need to work on!"

The rest of our crew pulled their wands from their bags or pockets, which was inconvenient, ready to go ahead with our lesson.

 _This really needs to be changed. If this were a duel or a fight for our lives, we'd all be dead. I mean, seriously, we can't exactly say, 'hang on a minute, I need to get my wand from my bag.'_ Isa snorted in her mind, once again proving that we were thinking the same thing.

"You're right, my girl." She laughed under her breath when she realized I had caught her thought. I chuckled quietly with her. "Always, Isa. I am always listening for your thoughts.

But, you're right; if this were the real world, we'd all be dead. Maybe that's something we can design, market, and sell? Something to contribute to the world?"

She looked up at me and nodded her head like a bobble head doll. "We can make things safer and easier for all of wizard kind! What a great idea!"

After that, we completed the spell, and we laughed at our attempts at getting it right the first time. In fact, the whole class was laughing at theirs and their friends' attempts at making a glass goblet from the rats on their desks.

"Oh, my goodness, Teddy! Yours has fangs!" Isa burst into a fit of giggles. "But … but … but you d … don't!" she got out in between her giggles. And next to her, Hermione started to laugh as well.

I smirked at her obvious amusement. "True, but at least mine doesn't have a wavy tail for a stem."

She gasped a pretend gasp before giggling all over again. We looked down the row at everyone else's.

"Well, at least, all of yours are goblets," Mike lamented, holding up his mug. "Even if Neville's is hairy, and Hermione's seems to be terracotta." Causing us all to laugh again, except for Ron, who was getting madder by the minute.

We were saved from the dribble that was going to come from his mouth by Professor McGonagall stepping in front of our row. "Let's see what we have here," she murmured and looked at all of them.

"Mr. Newtonian, do you know what a goblet is?"

"Yes, professor. But I think I was thinking about the hot chocolate that I had with breakfast, and I ended up with that."

"Simple mistake. You can try again when you are ready. Mr. Longbottom, do we even need to discuss what is wrong with yours, or yours, Miss Cullen?"

Neville and Hermione held in their snickers. "No, professor."

"Good. You two may try again when you are ready. Miss Swan, you have made a beautiful crystal goblet. Well, except for the tail stem, but even that could be considered decoration. I would prefer a glass goblet. You, too, may try again. Mr. Masen." McGonagall tried so hard to keep her look neutral, to not let her amusement show at my glass goblet with fangs. But she failed; failed so much that a small giggle escaped her. "You … ahem … have come the closest to getting the assigned task." Another giggle slipped out. "Please, try again when you are ready."

I nodded. "Of course, professor."

Just about everyone at our table burst into giggles and chuckles once McGonagall had moved on, but we took up our wands and started to practice some more.

Ron had been watching all of our varying degrees of success while his wand had still been misfiring because of the tape and was growing angrier and angrier. At one point, while Mike was discussing things with Hermione, Ron reached over and grabbed Mike's wand. Before Mike was able to take it back, Ron had tapped his rat three times and called out, _"Vera Verta."_ The results were even worse than the first time.

In true Ron style, the whole thing backfired, starting with Mike's wand. The wand lit up green, again, before shooting out the wrong end and hitting Ron square in the face. Professor McGonagall ran around the classroom and reached our desk just as the spell started to take effect. We watched as Ron's nose grew both in length and width then started to change shape. In the space of a few minutes from when the spell hit Ron, his nose had grown and turned into a fully formed goblet the same color as his skin, complete with the freckles that had been on his nose. It started at his eyebrows and flowed down until the stem and base hit the bottom of his chin.

Professor McGonagall stood in front of him. While she had been watching his nose grow and change, she decided to make an example of him. "Fantastic work there, Mr. Weasley. Much better than your first try, I must say. But this is a perfect example of why we shouldn't use somebody else's wand, especially if you have not won it from them first." She helped Ron up from the desk and spun him around to face the rest of the class. They tried to hold in their snickers, but from the tone of Ron's thoughts, he knew they were laughing at him. His high had completely disappeared—even though some had still lingered, even after the howler—and he knew he might not ever live this down. "I will be taking Mr. Weasley to the hospital wing. Carry on practicing; I shall be back shortly."

With that, Professor McGonagall frog marched him from the room. Those who had dropped them picked up their wands and resumed practicing. This was one class where the students didn't mess around because Professor McGonagall wouldn't hesitate in teaching anyone what happened if you did. Our little group looked at each other, instinctively knowing this was only going to make things worse with Ron. It looked like we had our work cut out for us.

Although, by the time the professor stepped back into the room, we were all, once again, practicing turning our rats into water goblets.

By the end of the lesson, my goblet still had a few fangs or at least one persistent pair. Isa's no longer had a tail, but she couldn't get it made of glass either. Hermione's closely resembled glass but wasn't quite clear. Mike's was at least a goblet this time but it had a handle on the side he couldn't get rid of. And poor Neville, his goblet, while no longer hairy, was still brown in color. We were getting there, but this spell was harder to master than some of the others we'd learned in first year.

It was fantastic. I'd never been more challenged in all my years of schooling more so than since I started at Hogwarts.

~*~UHS~*~

The walk down to the Great Hall after Transfiguration was entertaining to say the least. We were all still laughing about our attempts to transform our rats into water goblets. It was something we were going to spend some time working on because not one of us in the class had gotten it right.

I heard Ron making his way down the other side of the staircase from the hospital wing; it seemed that Madam Pomfrey had managed to fix his nose in record time. But it wasn't him I heard who made my steps falter; it was the four "voices" that were waiting in the foyer at the bottom of the Grand Staircase.

"What is it, Edward?" Neville asked because he was behind me when I stalled.

"Uh, Mike. You may want to brace yourself."

He looked at me sharply. "Why?"

I grimaced. "Because it's not just Molly and Arthur who have come. Shane and Jacob are here as well."

 _Damn. I was hoping for a letter or even a conversation via the fireplace. I hope they'll be quiet._ He was murmuring things much like those and prayers as he led the rest of the way down the staircase.

Shane and Jacob were impressed with their ingenuity. They were impressed that they didn't let something like a closed gate stop them from getting where they were supposed to be. But they knew Mike and Ron had acted without thought, and those actions had to have consequences because what they had done, while impressive, was very, very foolish. They had ousted Arthur for his car, been seen by muggles—who had now had their memories wiped (very men in black-ish)—and nearly killed themselves when they had landed in the Whomping Willow.

While Molly and Arthur were furious, Shane and Jacob were sympathetic or, at the very least, understanding of the whole situation. I couldn't see how this was going to go down because Ron was being removed for the duration of the week as punishment, but all Shane and Jacob had planned was a stern talking to. Well that and a laundry list of chores and things to keep him busy when he was home for any holidays.

We finished walking down the stairs in silence. Mike had lost all of his joviality from our last lesson, and his slumped posture said it all.

What I hadn't realized or heard was that having a talk with Mike wasn't the only reason Jacob and Shane were there. When I stepped down off the staircase, Jacob's thoughts zeroed in on me.

 _I didn't see you after Diagon Alley and after we'd bought the books. Watch out for Lockhart._ He paused. I tilted my head while reading his thoughts; I couldn't make heads or tails of them. Jacob sighed mentally. _As a dog, I have a sensitive nose; it has also translated across when I'm human._ I nodded as I followed that train of thought. _Have you noticed the smell of the books? All of them?_

I thought back to when we opened them in the house; with so many of them, I'd put it down to new books. I hadn't attributed it to anything else, but I nodded to let Jacob know that I'd noticed something off about them.

 _The pages have been soaked in potion before being written upon. Remus said that the potion works through touch, and once the susceptible witch or wizard has made contact with the pages, they'll believe anything written upon them. You must be careful; don't touch them more than necessary. Warn everyone._

I nodded in agreement. I would make sure that everyone in our group and Draco would be safe, if he wasn't already.

"Ronald. Go and pack your books. Just because we're taking you home doesn't mean you won't be learning. I'll be tutoring you while you're home," Molly practically yelled across the foyer when she saw Ron step off the staircase. He froze at the sound of her voice and at what she was telling him. He was embarrassed, and that just added to his anger. "Now, Ronald," she ground out when he didn't move.

Ron nodded. "Yes, Mother," he whispered before he turned and ran up the staircase.

 _She's only making it worse. I love my mother, but damn,_ I heard come from the door of the Great Hall. I looked over to see the twins standing there. George looked up at me, and I realized he was the voice I heard. _Isn't she?_

I nodded in response to his question. As much as Molly meant well with his current attitude, hers was only going to make him act out more.

Shane looked a little guilty, and from what I could see, it was because he wasn't going to go as hard on Mike as Molly seemed to be on Ron. "Mike, son. Please follow us up to Professor Dumbledore's office. We need to talk."

What Shane and even Jacob didn't understand was that Arthur was in some serious trouble, and that was fueling Molly's anger toward her son, but it wasn't just that. She was angry at Ron's attitude, she was angry with Mike, and she was angry with both Shane and Jacob because they didn't seem to be angry about the whole thing. And all that anger was being directed at Ron.

It didn't make it right, it just was.

Esme must have finished her last lesson and was coming inside to go home for the night because she stepped through the castle doors just as Molly flushed from seeing the spectacle she was making. But Molly was relieved when she spotted our mother.

"Ah, Professor Cullen. Can we have a word please?"

Esme nodded. "Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Would you like to come to my office?" Esme indicated back out to her classroom.

"Thank you." Arthur looked around, hoping to find someone to grab Ron when he came back down. When he saw me, he knew I'd heard his thoughts. Instead of making a bigger scene, he just nodded his head. "Edward, do you mind?"

I shook my head with a smirk. It looked like Ron wouldn't be the only one returning to school at the end of the week. "Not at all, Mr. Weasley."

I sat down on the stairs as they filed out after Esme. Isa plopped down on my lap while the rest of our group, joined by Fred and George, all sat down around me.

"We saw Jacob talking to you," Fred whispered. "What was that about?"

I explained to them quietly what Jacob had explained to me. They were surprised to say the least, well some of them anyway.

"So what do we do?"

"I have an idea, but I'll need to send a letter to Carlisle to see if he can get what I need. It'll be less noticeable than wearing our dragon skin gloves, and we'll still be able to feel. Unless there's a magical alternative, the idea that I have will have to do."

I could tell that Isa's mind was running a mile a minute. I could even see what it was, but I left her to her thoughts. I knew she'd come to me when she was ready.

Hermione asked the obvious follow up question. "Should we tell the rest of the students?"

"From what I can tell"—I said tapping my temple—"almost the entire student body—and even some of the teachers—have read them, and if not the new one, then certainly the ones that came before it. It's too late for them; we can only protect ourselves."

"I'm so glad we haven't read them, yet. Right, George?" George nodded in response to Fred's question.

We lapsed into silence just watching the students going about their afternoon and waiting for Ron or Mike to come back downstairs.

It was Mike who reached us first. He plopped down next to Hermione with a sigh.

Hermione patted his hand that was resting on his knee. "How'd it go?"

"Well, I'm grounded for life, and that's just to start. Dad wants me to write a full scroll essay on 'The Merits of Using One's Brain' and send it to him while Uncle Jacob wants one on 'Why it's best to speak to an adult first.' And they want them before the first Quidditch match."

"It's the least you deserve," Isa hissed from my lap. I pulled her close, shushing her and trying to get her to relax.

"Don't, Edward; she's right. It's the least I deserve. I even volunteered to leave the team for this year as punishment. But Dad said it wasn't a punishment unless it was directed at me. So apart from a whole list of things they have for me at home, they're going to think up something else."

"I need to go to the loo," Isa huffed, standing from my lap and grabbing Hermione's hand. "Let's go say hello to Myrtle."

Everyone in our group looked at the girls strangely as they made their way to the bathroom on the first floor. I'd known the girls had made friends with the ghost of a young girl who haunted that particular bathroom, but I had been unaware that they were such good friends. They'd been building their trust with Myrtle because they wanted to help her, because as far as they were concerned, someone Myrtle's age should pass on, not hang around haunting a castle.

"Moaning Myrtle?" Neville asked.

"Yup." I nodded. "She haunts the first floor girls' bathroom. Nobody goes in there because of her, so Isa and Hermione took it upon themselves to make friends with her. They didn't want her to be lonely."

"Oh."

Neville asked Mike if Jacob had explained about Lockhart's books while I looked around the Great Hall again. I was growing increasingly frustrated because Ron was taking a long time packing his bag; he was hoping his parents would change their minds. It was as Hermione and Isa made their way back to our spot that I noticed Jasper coming from the opposite way from where his classroom should have been. He caught my quizzical look and probably my feelings of confusion before he loped over to where we sat.

"What's up, Edward?"

"Why did you come from over there? Shouldn't your classroom be in the opposite hall?"

Jasper snorted. "It should be, but Professor Binns was a little harder to make leave than we thought. When I got there this morning, he was back and getting ready to read out loud from his textbooks. So Professor Dumbledore and I decided to move the classes to the opposite side so as not to attract his attention."

I nodded to show that I understood because what more was there to say to that. "Off home then?"

"Nope, I'm going to head out to Diagon Alley and take Alice out for dinner and maybe some dancing. It's been a while since we had a date, and she's been doing so well lately."

Isa cooed at that. "I'm sure she'll love that, Jasper. Say hello for me."

"I will. See you guys later." Jasper leaned over and gave both Isa and Hermione a kiss on the head before waving and taking off toward Dumbledore's office, leaving us once again waiting for Ron.

It was almost time for dinner when Ron, his parents, and Esme made it back to where we were sitting, and I could tell you that none of us were very happy about it.

"Thank you for waiting for him, Edward." Arthur shook my hand when he'd made his way over to us.

I nodded in response because I was annoyed that he'd taken so long. "How long will he be at home?"

Molly's face hardened as Arthur's seemed to shrink. "We'll be dropping Ron off next Sunday. He'll have just over a week at home. Then if he behaves himself, he'll stay; if not, well, that's a discussion for another time. Come now, Ronald. We must be off home."

~*~UHS~*~

Isa and I were practically giddy as we made our way to Defense Against the Dark Arts later in the week. We knew Lockhart wasn't going to let us in the class. In fact, I could hear him arguing the point with Professor Dumbledore from where we were on the stairs.

"I don't want those two half-breeds in my class, and I won't teach them. It will be a very quiet class if they're in it because I won't say a word."

"You cannot refuse to teach a student, Gilderoy. You have been chosen to teach, and that means all students."

He huffed. "I'm worth more than this, and everyone here adores me. I will not teach them, Albus. Remove them from my class or there will be no teaching of any of the students."

I watched through Lockhart as Professor Dumbledore did something so muggle, something I had never anticipated seeing him do before, that it almost made me stumble on the stairs—he threw his hands up in the air with a huff because of Lockhart's attitude. "Fine. But when they surpass every one of _your_ students because I will be teaching them, you will have no one to blame but yourself."

Lockhart didn't say anything; he just smiled triumphantly and strode back into his classroom. Isa and I had, of course, overheard the conversation, but the rest of the students hadn't.

This year, we were taking the class with Slytherin, and it was the perfect time for me to try and get Draco's attention. While it was easy for him to get my attention, thanks to my mind reading, I couldn't do the same. And I needed to share this information about the books as well as the needed necessities to read them when I had them. Thanks to Athan being sent out last night, they should arrive today.

The Slytherins were coming to the classroom from the opposite direction, and we all met with Professor Dumbledore at the doorway. I managed to catch Draco's eye just as we all stopped.

 _Do you need something?_ he thought, to which I nodded ever so slightly. _Well, this isn't going to do. You can hear me, but I need to be able to know what you need also. I'll think about it and let you know of a spot okay?_

I nodded again and turned my attention to Professor Dumbledore when he started to talk. "Please go in, class. Mr. Masen, Miss Swan, can you please stay out here for a moment. I need some of your time."

We both answer at the same time. "Yes, professor."

We waited patiently until Lockhart had closed the door with a bang and a smirk on his face. Dumbledore turned to look at us with an exasperated smile. "I take it you heard most of that?" We nodded. "Okay, come with me."

We followed him to a classroom that was empty and not far from the library. Dumbledore closed the door behind us and gestured to some seats that were near the front of the room. He paced a short while in front of us, gathering his words, before grabbing a chair and sitting down.

"I had a feeling Professor Lockhart would pull a stunt like this after I saw his reaction to you two at the first feast." Isa and I must have had confused looks on our faces because we didn't even bother to look at Lockhart at all. "His face screwed up into the most god-awful sour look when he saw you two enter. I had also heard about his reaction to you when you saw him in Diagon Alley.

"Look, I know you and Isa have read his books." He sighed while we grimaced. "And I can see by your reaction that you don't believe a word that comes from him. What I want to know is what else have you read?"

We told Dumbledore that when we bought the books for Lockhart's lesson, Isa thought it might be wise to get some of the ones used in lessons during the previous years. There was a lot more about defensive spells in those than there was in the _fiction_ Lockhart had written about.

"Good, good." He sighed. "I think you should be able to learn more from them than anything else. You two will be studying together and by yourselves more often than not. I have a lesson guide here from last year and the couple of years previous that I want you to go through. Study and practice here in this room. I have also given the librarian expressed written permission for you to use and take books from the restricted section because I have something I want you to do for me in these lessons, too.

"With the four lessons you have in here, two should be dedicated to your classwork and assignments and two to work that I am going to give you." He wordlessly aimed his wand at the door, which opened, before he waited. Not long after, the Pensieve from his office flew through the door. Once it was on the table, Professor Dumbledore waved his wand at the door, closing it solidly. He placed the wand to his temple and extracted a memory before letting it float into the bowl. "I want you to watch this memory, tell me what you think about it when you're done, and I'll instruct you further from there."

He could see that we had questions, and not just about what we were doing now. "I'll answer anything you may want to ask later."

Again, we just nodded, took a look at each other, and dove in.

We looked around when we landed and took note that we were still inside Hogwarts. It seemed we had taken spots around a classroom that had been transformed into a dining hall for a private party. There were only a few students wandering around and mingling with each other. They were all from different houses, but one stuck out the most because he was the only one from Slytherin.

 _Is that Tom Riddle?_ Isa asked.

"I believe so. I'm not entirely sure what he looks like."

 _I guess there are more questions we need to ask Dumbledore about the elusive Tom Riddle._

I nodded in agreement because she was right. We were trying to fight a war, but we didn't have all the information.

We watched as they all sat down when a bell was rung to indicate that dinner was about to be served; it seemed it was a regular thing. What surprised us though was that there was a teacher taking the head seat at the table.

"Professor Slughorn, tell us one of your tales?" Riddle asked.

We listened in fascination as this Professor Slughorn told a tale of taking on giants in an epic battle to prove that he was worthy of their secrets. It was a shame this was a memory because I'd love to hear from his thoughts if this was true or not.

We watched as the night was drawn out and Tom waited and bided his time until he was the last student left. It seemed this was the part Dumbledore had wanted us to see.

Professor Slughorn was tidying up some of his props from dinner when he was startled by Tom talking from right behind him. "Excuse me, professor?"

Professor Slughorn spun around with a gasp. "Tom, you scared me." He looked at Tom's face. "Whatever is the matter?"

"I was wondering, sir. If you could explain to me what Horcruxes are?"

This was where the memory took a turn for the worse. It seemed it had been doctored. Because the moment Professor Slughorn went to answer it, the scene flickered out and then returned to the same scene but from a different angle. Not only that but the answer Professor Slughorn gave was monotone and had no feeling.

It was a simple, "I'm sorry Tom, but I can't talk about that. You should go back to your common room now."

Then we were forcibly shoved from the memory and back into our consciousness.

It was a rough landing when we got back.

"Oh, wow, head rush," Isa groaned, grabbing her head.

"You okay, baby girl?"

"Yup, but what was that?"

"That was you being rejected from a memory," Dumbledore answered. "Tell me, what did you see?"

"That's an incomplete memory. Something changed it."

"Something or someone," Dumbledore murmured. "This was the only one Horace would allow me to collect."

I tilted my head at him, trying to work out what he meant. Isa put it together before I did.

"You mean Professor Slughorn was able to change his memory?"

"I think he wanted to believe so badly that this is what happened that he made himself believe it. And this is the only memory he allows. Think about it. What made you think it was fake?"

I snorted. "You mean besides the static that dubbed over the original answer?" To which Professor Dumbledore nodded. "It was the way he answered. There was no inflection, no meaning, and no feeling behind it."

"It was a recording," Isa added. "Something he'd practiced time and again to replace the old memory. It was almost like he looked in the mirror because the image was different too."

"Very good, Isabella. Eventually, we'll have to try to get the real memory from Professor Slughorn, but what I need you to do is take the last two lessons this week and start researching not only what Horcruxes are but what they could possibly be in reference to Lord Voldemort."

Dumbledore started to get up, but he halted when I called out for him to wait. "That's all well and good, sir, but how are we supposed to know what he would use when we don't know everything about him?"

"You're right." He reached inside his cloaks and pulled out a shrunken cupboard full of vials that had been written on, he used the Engorgio charm to make it larger so we were able to access them, and then he replaced his Pensieve with one that had been stored behind him. "For now, do your course load from these previous years' lessons." He waved his wand and had them land in front of us, along with a key. "Then later this week, learn all you can about Tom Riddle before researching Horcruxes afterward. Make sure you lock the classroom door when you leave after each lesson."

"Yes, professor."

With a flourish, he swept out of the classroom, leaving us to our own devices and trusting us to learn on our own.

 _At least, we'll be able to practice and study for our other classes here too. It's not like this will take us long to do on our own._

I looked at the list and pulled out the first book. "Very true, Isa. Very true."

~*~UHS~*~

It was later that evening when Carlisle came through on the letter I had sent him the day before. We were just sitting down to dinner in the Great Hall when Athan flew in through the window with a bulky package.

 _Seems like Daddy came through._

I nodded in agreement before looking over at Draco. It took me a few minutes but I eventually caught his eye.

 _You have what you need?_ I nodded at him. _Okay. There's a suit of armor on the third floor surrounded by empty classrooms. Use the glove on the left side, changing the thumb to indicate that you've left something for me. I'll get it later._ Again, I nodded to show I heard him.

"What have you got there?" Neville looked over the table.

I smirked. "Just something to fight off the fog those books will put on us. I'll explain later."

For the rest of dinner, we sat, chatted, and generally had a good time despite Colin's constant interruptions with his camera. It was something that had been lacking during the summer, all of us together; we might have to make sure it happened more next year. Not one word was said about Ron, but there was a notable lightness without him there, although I did note there was a heaviness to not only Mike's thoughts but Ginny's too.

I knew what weighed heavy on Mike, but Ginny's was a mystery, and I loved a good mystery.

After dinner, I walked out into the foyer with our group, including Fred and George.

"I have to make a quick trip to the third floor, but wait for me in the common room. I have something to give to all of you."

"Everything okay, Teddy?"

"Yup, I just have something to do quickly, then I'll be right there." At that moment, Draco wandered out of the Great Hall, so I indicated with my eyes. Isa was smart; she caught on quickly and nodded when she understood.

"Okay. See you up there." Then she smiled cheekily. "I'm sitting in your chair!"

I reached out to tickle her side but missed because she'd used her speed to get away from me. I growled at her a little. "I'm gonna get you!" Before I chased her up the stairs.

"No, you're not!" she squealed while she ran away from me.

All of our friends were laughing at us while they ran along behind trying to keep up with us. Once we reached the third floor, Isa blew a raspberry at me and continued on while I chuckled and took the door to the left to try and find this suit of armor Draco was talking about.

It took me a few minutes, but eventually, I found the one Draco had showed me in his mind. It was about halfway along the corridor next to a tapestry of Slytherin House. It was stunning in all its greens and silvers with the snake standing proud on its tail. The shield behind it was shined to gleam in the light, and it almost looked like it did, even if it wasn't made out of metal.

The thing about this tapestry was that it looked familiar, and for a moment, I couldn't place where I'd seen it before. It wasn't until I remembered studying the Marauder's Map one night that I realized where I had seen it before and smirked. I'd give it to Draco; he was smart. This tapestry led to the corridor that housed the door to Slytherin House. Draco would be able to come and go to this spot without anyone seeing him.

I approached the suit of armor, looking at its left arm and trying to determine the best way to put the note and gloves into its metal glove. I thought it was just an ordinary suit of armor. You'd think I'd know better because, when I went to grab it, it fisted its hand and pulled it back.

"What do you think you are doing, nave?"

I was startled at first that it could talk, even if it was deep and echoed throughout the armor. "Uh, I was hoping I could hide something in your left hand for another student to gather later."

"And why would I do that? Especially for a creature who is supposed to be dark?"

I huffed and rolled my eyes; I haven't been dark for many, many years. "I am not a dark creature. One can fight one's nature to be better than their life dictates it should be. It has been over eighty years since I've tasted human blood. I drink animal blood, and thanks to a very clever wizard, I can now consume food once again. Are you going to help me or not?"

"Even if you are not dark, why would I help a student hide something?"

"Because even if everyone else has their heads in the sand, I can see enough signs to tell there's a war coming. How soon is anyone's guess, but there is one coming. If you help me now, we could maybe play a part in putting it back until more people are ready or getting more information to the right people. Nobody wants this war, but it is coming."

The suit of armor, which had been clenching and unclenching its fist, froze at my words. "A war? With who?"

"One who is truly dark. Lord Voldemort."

"But, he's gone, is he not?"

I snorted. "You're in the castle; surely, you heard of what happened last year? Do you really think that will be his only attempt? He'll be back, and there will be a war. Whose side will you be on when he does?"

The next thing I knew, the suit pulled off its left glove and held it out for me to place the items in. I followed the directions, putting in the letter and several pairs of gloves.

"Who is to receive these items?"

"Thank you. And the only person to receive them is Draco Malfoy from Slytherin House. If you could please hold a finger out of place to let him know there's something for him, I would appreciate it."

The suit of armor placed its glove back on, dropping it into place and folding its fingers over so the hand was in a fist. "You are most welcome, nave. I will make sure it is no one but this Draco Malfoy before handing over the objects. I shall proudly stand on the side of good and light."

With that, I knew I was dismissed, so I walked away. At least, I had a way to keep in contact with Draco if something else came up. Once I was back on the Grand Staircase, I used my abilities and speed to get me to the Gryffindor Common Room as fast as possible. I had friends to protect from a man who was determined to have everyone believe his lies.

~*~UHS~*~

"So, what have you got for us, Edward?" Neville asked when the rest of the Gryffindor House had either gone to bed or off to the bathroom to prepare for bed.

I pulled out the box of latex gloves Carlisle had sent me and placed them down on the table we were all sitting around. "Most of you won't know what these are as you've never seen a muggle doctor. But due to all the pathogens and contagions that are spread around among the muggles, they wear these gloves to protect themselves. The only problem with them is that they're a once-only-wear type of thing, so you should only wear them when handling the books for homework or for class. I'll be able to get more of them, but use them wisely. If you're unable to get ahold of them then use a piece of cloth to shield your hands."

All those who had never seen a muggle doctor or heard muggle speech looked confused at what I told them.

It was Fred who asked the question. "Pathogens? Contagions?"

"Sorry. That's what they call colds, flus, and diseases. These gloves protect them from those types of things. I'll leave this box where we can all reach them; whenever you have a lesson or homework, just come and grab a pair. First, though, let me show you how to put them on."

We spent the next ten minutes or so practicing putting the gloves on. I wanted them to have them on before they ever got close to Lockhart's classroom because the last thing we needed was for him to know we were protecting ourselves from him.

It was at that time that Mike's thoughts caught my attention. He'd been thinking of using the fireplace to contact Jacob and Shane to get their opinion on what Ron had been doing but was afraid of their reactions. But it wasn't just that which caught my attention. It was a memory, something very short, that he tried not to think about, but I recognized it for _what_ it was, a house elf.

Mike only let the memory play out long enough for me to learn its name. The house elf went by the name of _Dobby_.

~*~UHS~*~

Later that evening, it was just Mike and me left in the Common Room. Even Isa had gone up to bed with Hermione an hour or so earlier. I had given him time and let him roam his thoughts going through a lot of the things Ron had done or said over the summer break. A lot of it was disturbing and aimed to keep Mike separated from the rest of us, keep him isolated and away. To separate him from his friends and family so that all he had to rely on was Ron.

I had to ask him and get him to talk before it was too late. I caught Mike's eye when he stood and turned to go to bed himself.

"What's going on, Mike? Your mind has been running a mile a minute tonight."

I didn't know what I expected, but I didn't think it was for Mike's eyes to tear up before he nearly broke down all together.

"I feel so alone. I don't know what to do!"

I stood and walked over to where he was barely holding it together and guided him back down on the couch in front of the fireplace.

It took the better part of an hour and a half for Mike to get out a lot of what happened over the summer. How Ron would get to him before he could leave the house and convince him to do something with just the two of them. How he would complain about everything and even became condescending about his own family and all of their friends. Mike never felt more alone than when we had come to celebrate his birthday.

Once he calmed down and relaxed for a bit, I decided it was now time for me to lay it out for him.

"I think what you need to do, Mike, is not be alone with him. Here at school, it's going to be easier because we're surrounded all the time by classmates, housemates, and teachers. You need to remember that you're not alone because you have all of us, and remember that I can hear and see everything that's going on in this castle." I tapped my temple for emphasis. "I want you to remember that I'll be keeping an eye on the situation, and you can come to me for anything. Tell me whenever it happens or just keep him around us because he's not going to do anything where he thinks he can get caught.

"He's isolating you for a reason. And until I can get around him to see why, I can't tell you. But don't go putting yourself in a position that will get you hurt. We're all here for you; I promise."

I could see Mike sit up a little straighter, like the world had been lifted from his shoulders. I think he thought no one would believe him. And now that he had someone to help, he was feeling ever so much better.

"Thank you, Edward. I can't tell you how that feels."

"You're welcome. We'll handle it. But I have a question for you."

"What's that?"

"How do you know Dobby?"

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think.**

 **See you in a fortnight.**


	4. Chapter Three - Hearing Voices

**Hi everyone, and welcome to another chapter of Under Her Spell. I hope you all have had a good fortnight.**

 **I'd like to thank Pienuniek for all of her hard work keeping me in line, and reminding me of things that I forget to add, even though we've talked about it a thousand times before. And I'd like to thank Sally Hopkinson for adding and subtracting commas and such. As hard as I try I can never get them all in the right places.**

 **Twilight and Harry Potter belong to their authors SM and JK Rowling respectively. No copyright infringement intended.**

 **I'll let you get to it.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three – Hearing Voices**

Ron came back that Sunday evening, but it didn't seem that his time away had done him any good. In fact, if anything, it had made him madder. He still didn't know that Mike had gotten into trouble and had been serving detention with different teachers after dinner most nights. By mid-week though, Ron had learned a very valuable lesson. Don't annoy Professor McGonagall. She would have you scrub all the cups in the trophy room, with a toothbrush.

No. Magic. Allowed.

However, by Thursday, we had had enough of his continuous obnoxious behavior. Our group of friends had decided to meet in the Room of Requirement to discuss what could be done. The only ones missing were Hermione and Mike. Hermione because she gave us her expressed permission that she would vote for something to be done and because she was keeping an eye on Mike. Mike was in the know but had to act oblivious because we needed to keep Ron in the dark.

Neville huffed. "What can we do?"

"I don't think _we_ can do anything. I think we need some input on this one. From what I've heard in Ron's mind, he's come close to spilling all. Mostly because he wants the accolades that come from hanging with the one who survived. But it's also not a conscious thought; more often than not, he speaks before he thinks."

Fred and George groaned. "Then he can't be trusted to keep his mouth shut," they blurted out at once before George continued. "Is his behavior because of having to keep it closed? Maybe we put too much pressure on him."

"It is possible." I nodded. "It might have been the secret he had to keep. It could have been something as simple as him being too immature to think through the consequences. But we need to do something. If his anger escalates, it will have dire repercussions."

We brainstormed ideas, some as simple as knocking him on the head and hoping to cause a concussion, which then had me explaining what a concussion was in layman's terms. To things that were so outlandish the twins were thinking of turning them into gag items for their eventual joke shop.

It was Isa who came up with the idea. She'd been so quiet, reading this year's charms book in the corner; she had no opinion on the matter because she had washed her hands of Ron. As far as she was concerned, Ron was no longer her friend, and definitely not her family. All the same though, she was listening.

"What about if we used the memory charm _Obliviate._ Well, not really us, but maybe we should write a letter home to Molly and Arthur telling them everything and asking them to have Professor Dumbledore do it."

"Why can't we do it, Isa?"

She looked up from the charms book at me. "Because it's a spell we have yet to learn, for one thing. And second, because we haven't got any experience; we are likely to remove all of his memories when, really, it is only part of them that need to go."

We were quiet for a moment, thinking about what she'd proposed. I couldn't imagine losing my memories, any of them. The only problem I could see was that we would have to replace them with something, or someone. Ron wouldn't be able to have memories with us, so that also meant tampering with someone else's memories as well.

I told them as much.

"Well then, I guess we'd better come up with some scenarios. Professor Dumbledore will need them when he swaps these memories over. But who are we lumping with Ron?" Neville asked.

We snickered when we thought about lumping him with someone we didn't like, but we knew that Ron needed friends who would be there for him, even if we couldn't. We even discussed having Brunhilde change her crush to Ron but thought it was something she had to get over on her own.

In the end, we decided we needed to keep him close, but not too close, and thought that Dean and Seamus would be the best options. We'd be able to keep an eye on him, but he wouldn't be in our immediate circle anymore. Once we'd decided that, we wrote up a long list of viable memories Dumbledore could use on not only Ron but Dean and Seamus, too.

Once that was done, we spent the rest of the time in the Room of Requirement drafting a letter to Molly and Arthur. We started with Fred and George explaining exactly what we had seen or not seen over the summer. I went on to detail the things I'd heard at Harry's birthday party, and then the three of us filled them in on what had happened after we'd taken him away from her in Diagon Alley.

Isa took the last part, although, she wanted to stay a neutral party in the whole thing. She knew her opinion would weigh as much as Fred and George's. She wrote down her opinion on the stunt they pulled to get to school and how Ron reveled in the accolades while Harry seemed to shrink into himself. She gave them her observations on Ron's behavior and how he seemed to take the time to not only isolate Harry but also some of the things Ron said to him as well. Lastly, she detailed exactly how he had been since he'd come back to school from his suspension. The thing that I loved and hated was that she didn't hold back. She was as detailed as possible, she didn't hold anything back, and that included when she wrote about our solution.

"There," she murmured. "It's done. We need to get this to Athan and then to dinner before Ron becomes too suspicious."

I stood and held out my hand to my girl. "Then let's go. We've left Mike and Hermione alone with him long enough."

~*~UHS~*~

By the time Isa and I made it back from the Owlery, dinner was already started. Hermione had saved us seats next to her, but the poor girl was suffering from the mother of all headaches thanks to Ron's attitude all afternoon.

"You guys so owe me for this," Hermione whispered, rubbing her temples as we sat down. "He's been nothing but an obnoxious, moronic prat all afternoon. He also tried to pull Mike away at every opportunity."

"Thank you, Hermione. How about after dinner, I take you up to the hospital wing to get something for that headache?" Isa whispered back.

I shook my head. "Not the hospital wing. Come back to the Common Room, and we'll get Kreacher to get you something. Was it really that bad?"

Hermione sat up and gave me a look that screamed she'd been hounded, pushed, or pulled all afternoon. "It was worse than anything I could have ever, ever imagined. And I thought my parents were bad."

Yeah, it was time to do something about Ron. Hopefully Molly, Arthur, or Dumbledore would get back to us sooner rather than later.

~*~UHS~*~

By Saturday, we were losing hope that we'd get an answer to our letter. Ron had only become a bigger pain in the ass. He was pushing his limits with everyone. The only one he didn't seem to be bothering was Ginny, but she stayed closer with a group of girls her own age. The problem there was the fact that she seemed to have the start of darkness or depression hanging over her. It could be because she's away from home for the first time, but it could be something else. I was only mildly worried at that point.

So instead of staying in and waiting for Ron to get out of bed late, we all got up early and trudged down to the Quidditch pitch to watch the Gryffindor team in their first practice of the year. It seemed that Oliver Wood was going to be harder on them this year; he wanted to stay on top of the ladder.

We hadn't been there long when Ron tripped up the stairs and into the stands. We'd been hoping for a quiet morning with no sarcasm, but it didn't seem we'd be getting that. Thankfully though, he just stumbled onto a seat near us, leaned on the bannister, and watched the goings on down on the pitch.

We'd been down there for about half an hour when something caught Isa's attention.

"Oh no. This can't be good!"

I followed the way she was looking, only to see the Slytherin team making their way onto the pitch. I hadn't been paying attention to the thoughts swirling around me, but I started to listen because I wanted to know what was happening.

"We'd better get down there," Hermione whispered, standing and making her way down the stairs with all of us following.

By the time we made it to the pitch, both teams were facing off in the middle.

It was Wood who spoke first. "What are you doing here, Flint? I booked the pitch for Gryffindor today."

"Settle down, Wood. I have a note."

I watched through Oliver as he took the parchment and unrolled it.

 _I have given the Slytherin team permission to use the pitch today in order to train their new Seeker._

 _Professor Severus Snape_

"You have a new Seeker? Why do you have a new seeker?"

It was at that point that I heard a new "voice."

 _I'm sorry I couldn't warn you, Edward. I wanted too, but I only just found out. My father showed up unexpectedly this morning._ Draco stepped forward as the Slytherin team parted.

"Malfoy," Ron sneered. "How did you get on the team?"

As if on cue, the whole team tapped their brooms on the ground.

Ron now looked on in awe. "Are those the new Nimbus 2001s?"

"See, unlike yours, Weaselby, my father can buy the very best," Draco said with a sneer but sighed internally. _I really hate doing this._

"Well, at least everyone on the Gryffindor team earned their way; they didn't have to buy their position," Hermione taunted. She knew we had a part to play and so did Draco. She also knew if she said something first he'd turn on her.

The Slytherin team watched as Draco gritted his teeth; they thought he was furious because she dared to speak to him. He was furious, but it was because he had to do what he was about to do.

"Nobody asked you, you filthy little Mudblood." We all could see the twist of disgust, but it was only those in the know who knew what it actually meant. _Tell her I'm sorry. I really don't want to do this. I wish I had more to tell you, but Dad's been more secretive according to Mum. Although, she said there's been more Death Eaters at the house recently._

I nodded to let him know I'd heard him but gasped appropriately at the insult. None of us were going to fight back, but we hadn't counted on Ron doing anything.

"How dare you!" he growled, pulling out his wand. We tried to stop him as Professor Lockhart had walked out onto the pitch, but Ron was too far-gone. "You'll pay for that one, Malfoy. _Eat Slugs_!"

Even though Ron had gotten another hand-me-down wand from his father—Molly and Arthur had bought Arthur a new one—he still hadn't put enough focus into the spell. The wand flashed green then the spell flashed out of it backward; it hit him so hard that he flew backward. If it wasn't for my quick reflexes, he would have landed on the ground, hitting his head on a rather large rock.

"What's going on here?" The rather jovial voice of Lockhart rang out, causing us all to look up at him. I caught the sneer he was trying to hide when he saw me helping Ron back up. "There's no trouble is there?"

I smirked, not at all intimidated by his sneer. "No, sir. We're just going to take Ron here"—who at that moment decided to upchuck the grossest, fattest, slimiest slug I'd ever seen—"down to Hagrid. I think he'll know what to do."

"Yes, yes. You do that. I'll uh … handle this here." Lockhart waved his hands around, not looking all that excited to do so.

Isa chuckled under her breath at him before groaning at another gross slug coming from Ron. "Let's go before I start being sick." Isa wrapped her arm in Hermione's and walked off ahead of us. Mike was going to wrap Ron's arm around his shoulders until he managed to puke up another slug, which then caused him to gag himself.

"I think, Mike, that I'll carry Ron. I'll be able to tilt him faster than you could should he need to continue …" I was interrupted by Ron retching again. "Than you can."

Mike nodded then ran ahead as I swung Ron into my arms. "Thanks, mate!"

"I don't want you carrying me."

I sighed. "Yeah, well I don't want to carry you either, but it's that or we stop every minute or so for you to throw-up slugs while trying to walk. The sooner we get there the better."

I could hear the anger in Ron's thoughts build the more he threw up slugs while the others snickered every time it happened. It wasn't that it was funny; it was the circumstances around it. We had told Ron time and again that he needed to focus his spells, and this time, it had backfired in a spectacular way. It was that and the fact that he was embarrassed because he had to be carried.

I heard Isa and Hermione squeal then coo quietly when we reached the halfway point between the castle and Hagrid's hut. I realized I hadn't been paying a lot of attention while walking and missed that Saffy had come and landed on Isa's shoulder.

"Hang on, everyone! I just gotta read this," she called as Saffy held out her leg then hopped into Hermione's arms so Isa could unroll and read the parchment. "Oh. We have to go back to the castle and up to Professor Dumbledore's offices."

We all groaned then sighed out loud while Ron threw up a couple more slugs, then we all turned and trudged back toward the castle. Ron's embarrassment and anger grew when we reached the castle and drew an audience because he was still throwing up slugs. I was more than thankful for Fred and George following behind us, using a spell to clean them up and not leaving a trail of them. Not that it mattered. They were still coming out, and the noise drew people in. There were the girls who squealed out an "eewww" and the boys who thought they were "cool looking," there was even Colin, who wanted to take photos of them.

Thankfully, once they realized where we were going, they all split up and went their own directions. But by this time, Ron was stewing in his anger, so it wouldn't take much to make him blow his top.

"Does anybody know what Dumbledore's password is this year?" George asked from the back of the group.

"Yes!" Isa answered. But that was all she said.

I chuckled as Fred and George asked if they got to know what it was, then laughed even harder when she told them no. Once we reached the corridor that led to his office, I ranged my gift out to listen to what was going on, and I was surprised by what I heard.

Up in Dumbledore's sitting room were a rather contrite and upset Molly and Arthur. It looked like Dumbledore had spoken to them about how they had helped Ron become who he was. How their attitudes and parenting facilitated it. Although, he spoke to them more as a counselor than someone who had parenting experience, which to me, was the best way to go about it. At that moment, they were going over some of the instances that had been pointed out, but they were also there for a lesson.

Professor Dumbledore wanted them to hear Ron, unedited, and he had a plan to go about that, including having either Mike or myself asking the obvious question.

I stopped listening when we reached the statue guarding Dumbledore's office. I watched with great anticipation as Fred and George leaned forward slightly to hear the password but cracked up laughing when Isa stood as close as possible to the Gargoyle and whispered at almost vampire pitch. "Cockroach Clusters." There was no possible way the twins could have heard it, and the look on their faces said it all.

"That's not fair!" they both shouted. "We want to know!"

Isa smirked at them over her shoulder as she took the first step on the revolving staircase. "And if you were meant to know … Dumbledore would have sent you the letter!"

Even Mike managed a chuckle at that before we all piled on the stairs and rode our way to the top.

~*~UHS~*~

Dumbledore wasn't in his office when we walked in, but I could hear him in the other room, and he wanted me to place Ron near a chair that was closest to the door to his sitting room. Ron stood there for a moment trying to clean his clothes but not having much success because he kept throwing up slugs every time he got them cleaned.

"Really, Edward? You couldn't have carried me in such a way that I wouldn't have gotten covered in slime? Are you that incompetent? Because I've seen the way you carry Bella around. She never gets anything on her when she's eating, so I know you can do it. Are you sure you're a vampire?" He threw up two more slugs while trying to berate me, only to have his brothers clean up after him. "And you, Mike, you couldn't even stick up for me? Back me up in any way? Bloody typical. How hard would it have been to follow up on the curse that I tried to put on him? Where was your wand anyway? I can't believe I call you friend or that I keep your secret.

"And you two!" He rounded on Fred and George, upchucking two more slugs. "What kind of family are you? I'm your brother; you should have done something. I'm more important than anyone else to you! God, what I have to put up with!"

I held my growl in while he continued to berate the others for what he believed were slights against him as I took my seat and pulled Isa into my lap.

"Aww, isn't that sweet," Ron cooed sarcastically. "Comfy there Bel …"

I let loose a growl that would have frightened even the most despicable human. He could say what he wanted to me, but I wasn't going to stand for him starting in on Isa. "You will not say another word to her or Hermione."

He huffed as he sat down. "No, of course not. Couldn't have that, could we?"

The door opened slowly and quietly behind Ron, letting Dumbledore sneak in. _You know what's going on?_ I nodded to his question. _Good. And I take it that Lockhart didn't get there in time?_ I looked at him curiously for a moment before I realized he had played a part in the confrontation on the field. I shook my head, letting Dumbledore know that he didn't. _Good. Prat._

I let out a silent chuckle then sat back and waited.

"I'm sorry, Ron. There's nothing to do but wait it out," Dumbledore started, giving Ron a bucket and scaring those who hadn't seen him come through the door. "Why, though, were you trying to curse someone?"

"It was _Malfoy,_ " Ron spat. "Gryffindor was out already practicing when the Slytherin team came out onto the pitch …" He continued on, telling everything that happened. "Then he called Hermione a Mudblood, and I couldn't stand for that name to be thrown about."

I noticed, as did some of the others, that it was about the name being used, not about defending Hermione in any way. Molly and Arthur noticed it too.

I was waiting to see if Mike would ask the follow-up question because he didn't know what it meant either. Hermione knew it was an insult, and that it was bad, but she had no idea either. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

In the end, Isa helped it along. "What's a Mudblood?"

Ron smirked. It was slow, condescending, and a little evil. "It's a really foul name for someone who is _Muggle born_ ," he stated slowly. "Someone with non-magical parents. There are some—like the Malfoys—who think they're better than everyone else because they're what they like to call _pure blood._ " I heard what was coming next, and I knew it wasn't going to be handled well; it had to be done though. "I wonder, Edward, which tastes better? Pure bloods or Mudbloods?"

There was a shocked gasp from everyone and not just in this room. Molly and Arthur were appalled that he would blatantly ask me something like that, but it was Isa who I didn't hold onto quick enough. She was off my lap and out of my arms before I could blink.

"He hasn't tasted human blood in over eighty years, you git. How dare you?" And even though I'd used my speed to get to her, she'd used every bit of hers and her strength to coldcock Ron right in the nose. Blood exploded from him, and he fell back against the chair behind him. He didn't make a sound because not only did Isa break his nose, she had knocked him out cold.

"You may come out," Dumbledore stated loudly while pulling out his wand and staunching the blood flow. "Edward, send a note to your father, please, through the fireplace."

I nodded, letting go of Isa and stepping up to Dumbledore's desk to do as asked.

"Kreacher?" I heard the pop as Kreacher popped in at Dumbledore's request. "Can you please treat Isabella's hand until Carlisle gets here?"

"Yes, sir." Kreacher led Isa back to our chair while I finished up and stuck the note in the fireplace before running back and kneeling at Isa's side.

"Is she okay?" I whispered to Kreacher.

Kreacher smiled. "Miss Bella is fine, Master Edward." He waved his hand over Isa's hand, putting the one knuckle that was slightly out of place back where it belonged. "Kreacher will get her something for the pain." He was gone and back before I could say a word.

What I found odd was that Arthur and Molly had come into the room but had not said a word, not even to their conscious sons. I never thought of them as bad parents, but they certainly weren't doing anything right now.

"That was a king hit, sweet girl. Emmett will be so proud," I whispered, making her giggle. "Thank you for defending me. It wasn't needed, but thank you."

"I love you." She shrugged as if that answered everything, and it really did.

Eventually, Molly and Arthur moved over to try to comfort Fred and George, not that they were very accepting of it.

Dumbledore interrupted their attempts. "Arthur, Molly, I want you to explain what you're doing here today. To your boys, to those here who were trying to help."

They plopped down on an open couch before either one of them spoke. "We're sorry," Arthur began as Carlisle stepped through the fireplace. "We came here with the idea that you were all exaggerating. We didn't think Ron was like that or that he would place Mike in danger like that."

"Noooo, of course, Ronnikins could do no wrong. What about all the other times we tried to tell you," George started. "And all the times you were blind to his attitude, even when it was staring you in the face," Fred finished.

"We can see that now," Molly whispered. "What can we say? We're sorry."

"I'm not sure it's enough, Mum. Are you taking our letter seriously now? And our suggestions?" Fred asked.

They nodded before Arthur answered verbally. "We are, and you're right. Albus, can you do as the children suggested?"

"I can." He nodded. "He'll have new friends by the end of the day. Are you going to follow through on what we spoke about?"

I read their minds and found that he had suggested they do something no one in the wizarding world had ever done before, and that was to get some counseling. Dumbledore knew that both Esme and Carlisle had their degrees in family counseling.

"We planned to talk to Esme before we leave here today; now we can talk to both of them," Arthur confirmed.

"Good. Let's get this done. Children, you may leave." Dumbledore indicated to the door.

Our little group stood and made our way out the door, Kreacher following behind holding Isa's hand. It wasn't until we'd made our way from the corridor on the third floor to the fifth floor that George broke the silence.

"What are Mum and Dad going to be doing with your parents, Edward?"

I snorted. "They're going to be the first of wizard kind to get counseling. I have a feeling Carlisle and Esme will be starting a new branch in medicine."

Isa looked up at me. "Does that mean there will be a need for more uh …"

"Counselors?" Isa nodded to my question. "Eventually, yes. Maybe they'll do a stint as professors; it also means they'll have to keep up with the tactics in the muggle world."

"Will they need to leave us?"

I shook my head. "Not in the sense that you mean. They may have to go to school to brush up on the new things, but they'll never leave you. Maybe it's even something that young witches and wizards can do. They can get their magical education with a side order of all-round muggle studies only to come to us to get help to get into a medical school to become counselors. Unless, of course, they introduce it through St. Mungo's."

"Getting back to our conversation," Fred interrupted. "Do you think they'll go through with it?"

"They are determined to do so. But with every person I've ever seen, it's a wait and see type of situation."

We were all quiet as we made our way to the Common Room. I had a feeling it was going to be a very quiet day.

~*~UHS~*~

Things had settled down after Ron had his memories altered. He was calm, cool, and polite to us, but he was becoming a really good friend to Seamus and Dean. Dumbledore had given them some memories to make the transition easier.

Unfortunately, for Mike, that meant he was serving detention alone. A sacrifice he was more than happy to make.

It had been a quiet couple of days. The one thing that clouded the good times was Ginny seemed to be withdrawing, and nothing we seemed to be doing was able to help. She still interacted with us, but her life enthusiasm was diminished.

The night things changed, Mike was serving detention with everyone's favorite teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart. It seemed that his version of detention was having Mike help sign pictures of himself to send out with his fan mail. He was even regaling poor Mike with stories of signing events; fortunately for me, I heard the truth even as the lies were spilling from his mouth. While poor Mike was enduring that, we were in the library studying for an upcoming test in Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall, while a great professor, was a stickler for testing everything we had learned in every section. Isa and I loved it. Even Hermione was enjoying it.

The whole castle was quieter than normal; students were studying or resting or reading. The only room that seemed to be making any noise was the Slytherin Common Room in the dungeons; thank goodness, it was well out of normal hearing range.

"Becoming an Animagus is going to be hard," Neville complained quietly. This was a regular discussion lately because next year, we would learn the theory on how to become one. "My uncle Tiberius tried it. All I remember is him running around with a mandrake leaf half hanging out of his mouth! He couldn't talk or eat anything; he didn't make it past the first week because he was so hungry. How are we supposed to if he couldn't?"

Isa and I had done some preliminary research on how to become one, and one of the steps was holding a Mandrake leaf in your mouth for a month. Isa was thinking about it as Neville complained.

 _That needs to change. There has to be a way to make it easier …_ Isa trailed off in her thoughts, trying to think around it. She thought that if Lupin was able to create potions for vampires so they could eat and have our regular eye color, then there should be a way to make it easier.

It was something I had been thinking about since Isa had the thought about becoming one.

"Maybe he should have tried putting the whole leaf in his mouth to begin with? Not half hanging out," Isa suggested

"It's why so few do it, Neville. It's hard. I'm not sure it's worth the time." Hermione held up her hand when Isa went to interrupt. "I'm not saying for everyone. Let me change my statement. I'm not sure it's worth _my_ time to learn something that takes my time away from something else. I don't want to be one anyway."

"You do realize that it isn't even a mandate? You don't have to become one. Professor McGonagall will teach the theory. It's something Teddy and I want to do, and seeing as we can start from next year, we're going to try."

"Besides, is anything worth doing ever eas …" I trailed off as a new sound caught my attention, but I wasn't quite sure what it was.

"Teddy?"

"Shh," I hushed Isa because at the same time she spoke, the sounds caught Mike's attention, but it seemed nobody else.

Isa raised an eyebrow at me. "Shh?"

"Please?" I asked as I heard the same sound again, but this time, it was moving away. I quickly packed up my things and started to walk away, the others scrambling after me.

Mike had been dismissed when Lockhart thought Mike's ramblings were due to him being hungry, and instead of going to the Great Hall to get something to eat, we were both on the trail of the sounds coming from … what seemed to be the walls. How was that possible?

"What's going on, Edward?" Hermione whispered.

We almost literally bumped into Mike as we all clambered around the corner in the corridor.

"Can you hear that?" Mike asked as we followed the sound farther down and then up a flight of stairs.

I nodded. "Can you make out what it's saying?"

"No, not yet."

We continued to follow the sounds through the corridors, up and down the stairs, until we finally heard clear words when we were in the foyer in front of the Grand Staircase.

" _Come … come to me … let me rip you … let me tear you … let me_ kill _you …"_

It was after those words had frozen us to our spots that the sounds and the voice disappeared.

"Tell me it didn't just say that?"

Mike moaned. "It did. What are we going to do?"

"I have no idea. Give me some time to think about it."

We spun around to see the group behind us. Isa and Hermione had their arms crossed with mad looks on their faces while Fred, George, and Neville were just curious.

"You will tell me what's going on, Edward," Isa demanded. When she used my real name, I always knew she was serious.

" _Ooooooo, you're in trouble_!" Fred and George sang, making Mike and Neville chuckle while Hermione giggled, but the only thing from my girl was a twitch of her lips.

"Now, Edward."

I listened to everything going on around us before grabbing Isa's hand and tugging her into an empty classroom while the others followed behind. Once inside, I closed the door behind us then I started to pace because how was I going to explain what Mike and I just heard?

I paced for a few minutes until Isa stood in front of me and grabbed my hands. "Just tell us."

Mike stepped forward. "You're going to think I'm … we're crazy."

"No, never." She shook her head to emphasize her point.

"But I heard a voice in my head. Mike heard the same voice."

"Hate to break it to you, mate, but you hear voices in your head all the time." Fred chuckled, which broke the tension I had created.

I smiled a little sardonically at him. "Yes, Fred, thank you. This was different. To begin with, it was just noises …"

Mike chimed in. "And they were coming from the walls."

"It seemed that the more we followed it …"

"The faster it moved away from us."

"That's what we were doing, tracking it all over the castle."

"Until we actually heard it talk there at the end when we were in front of the staircase."

That's where Mike and I stopped because what we heard was … disturbing.

"What did it say?" they all asked.

Mike and I looked at each other before I turned back to them. "It was calling for something to come to it. It wanted to rip, tear … kill whatever it was."

Everyone was stunned silent.

"Well, that explains your comments in the foyer," George whispered.

It was Neville who voiced the question I was stuck on. "Do we tell Professor Dumbledore?"

"At this point, I'd say no." Hermione held up both her hands when some of us started to argue with her. "Apart from Mike and Edward hearing it, we have no proof or idea what we're dealing with. But also, even though Edward hears voices on a regular basis …" We all laughed at that. "With Mike hearing it, it concerns me. Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices is not a good thing."

~*~UHS~*~

The next few days were quiet. We heard nothing more from the voice in the walls; even Draco was quiet. He had told me that he knew something was happening but he wasn't sure what; somehow his father was even more secretive than normal. With all this magic floating around, you'd think they would have come up with a spy tool they could use to hear conversations from another room. If it wasn't for magic interfering, I'd get some muggle equipment; gotta love muggle ingenuity after all.

September thirteenth had snuck up on us all; well, all but Isa, Kreacher, and I. When we were discussing what to do with Ron, Hermione had remembered Isa's birthday was coming up. Before we'd gone out to the Quidditch pitch, Isa had told everyone that we'd worry about her birthday later, that having to deal with everything had been exhausting, and she just wanted to get it all done before we had a reason to celebrate. Once everything had been done, Isa wanted it to just be the two of us for her birthday. She wanted a quiet morning with snuggles, some hot chocolate, and some waffles. She wasn't even sure she wanted presents, not that anyone listened. They, again, had come in overnight, and Kreacher placed them all in my area of the Common Room. Kreacher had even made a cake, again, this year. Much smaller than the one he made last year.

Isa came down much earlier than I thought she would, considering how deep she had been sleeping, but all she did was climb up into my lap and relax.

"Not tired, sweet girl?" I asked as I wrapped her up in a blanket.

She sighed a rather sad sound. "No, not really. I just want to cuddle here."

"Is there anything wrong?"

She shrugged but let her mind wander through a dream she had. It wasn't one of her precognitive ones; otherwise, it would have pulled me in. It wasn't a bad one, per se, because that I would have picked up on. It was, however, a little different. It was one about us, and we seemed to be in a cavern of sorts with a pool of water, but that's all it was. She couldn't see any other details or anything farther than five feet around us. The thing that bothered her was that we were there one minute and gone the next, with no explanation.

"I'm sure it's nothing. Just relax, and we'll watch the sunrise on this most beautiful of days."

I could feel her smile against my neck before she attempted to purse her lips. "What's so special about this day?"

I didn't even try to hide my smile. "This day is special because twelve years ago you were born, just for me. This day is always one to celebrate, even if it's only just us. Love you, baby girl."

"Love you, too, Teddy."

While we sat there watching the sunrise, I thought about the present I had hidden in one of the many hiding spots in my trunk. Over the summer, I'd followed up on the information Charlie had given me and found the keys for the rest of the locks. What we'd discovered was monumental to Isa. It seemed that Charlie had set things up in case they had gone pear-shaped while he was away.

 _Isa and I had just finished talking to our parents. We did it about once a week when we were home so that we didn't spend too much time doing it, but we wanted to keep them up-to-date with what was going on. It was during that recent conversation that Charlie had reminded me about the hidden drawer in the desk in the library and how it would open up the other compartments of my chest._

 _I wandered around the desk looking to see if we had missed anything when we moved it around the library. I felt a little like Indiana Jones or Ben Gates or Nathan Drake trying to find a hidden treasure, which I essentially was. Once I was back behind it, I pulled the drawers out one by one; first lifting everything out and checking for a false bottom, then turning it over and looking to see if anything was taped underneath. The only thing I found was a letter and receipt of purchase from the early 1700s. It had been in Charlie's family for a very long time._

 _When that failed, I sat back on the chair to think. The chair was just as old as the desk itself but not connected that I could find. And believe me I looked. It wasn't until I leaned the chair backward that I heard a click, then a corresponding one was made from under the desk itself. I sat there for a minute thinking that something dramatic was going to happen, but all I could hear were the sounds of everyone going about their business and Isa saying goodbye to her father._

 _Gently, I placed the chair back onto all fours, hoping that whatever mechanism I had set in motion or opened didn't close when all the feet were back on the ground. When I didn't hear anything, I used my speed to lay down on my back under the desk. What I found there, though, I'll never forget. There, at the end of the middle drawer, was a tumbler. It had enough tumblers to make up an eight-digit code. It could have a multitude of combinations, but I started with the most logical; the day the table was made._

 _I tried to put the date in, as I normally would, but found there weren't enough numbers in the second set of tumblers. It was then I realized that the British used the day, day, month, month style, and I was going to have a hell of a time getting it right if I used the American date system._

 _When the date it was made didn't work, I locked in a large number of dates significant for the time the table was made, but none of them unlocked anything else. I was running out of ideas when Isa walked into the library trying to find me. She hopped on top of the desk. After that, it was like a lightning bolt hit me. The desk belonged to Charlie, and if he was anything like me, he would use one of the most important days of his life as the code._

 _Before I could put it in, however, Isa leaned over the side to look at me. I quickly kissed her cheek. Even upside down, she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Her hair hung down in waves, brushing the floor._

" _What are you doing, Teddy?"_

 _I smirked at her. "I'm trying to find the keys to my trunk."_

" _Under the table?"_

 _This time, I chuckled. "Yes, under the table."_

" _Why?"_

" _Because this is where the first clue led me when I leaned back in the chair. I heard a click and then another from under the table." I held my hand out. "Come down here, and I'll show you."_

 _Isa clambered down, and we managed to lay side-by-side under the desktop. "What did you find?"_

" _See this here?" I pointed to the tumbler, continuing on when Isa nodded. "This is a number lock. It has an eight-digit code to unlock something else."_

" _Cool. What numbers have you tried?"_

 _I snorted. "Just about everything in relation to the desk." She looked disappointed. "But there is one thing I haven't tried."_

 _Isa perked up at that. "What?" she whispered excitedly._

" _Well, this date is special to two very different people for the very same reason. It's the date that the most important person in both of our worlds was born. The first being your father, and the second being me. Can you guess the date?"_

 _I could see the tears in her eyes. She knew, knew that the date that unlocked the next part had something to do with her. "M-my b-birthday?"_

 _I kissed her temple to comfort her. "Of course, my girl. It's the most important day in our history," I whispered. "Why don't you put it in?"_

 _She nodded, sniffling a little before she reached up to the tumblers. When she was finished spinning them around, they read 13-09-1991. The moment she placed the last one into place, there was another click, this one from the outside of the table. We both looked at each other, then scrambled out from under the table. We both looked around the desk until we found a corner piece that had popped out._

 _Isa tilted her head as she looked at it. "What do we do now?"_

" _I guess we figure out how to put it back in."_

 _We spent the next few minutes working out that we had to twist the piece one hundred and eighty degrees before pushing it back in for the next one to pop out. After that, we followed them around the table until we'd reached the opposite corner from where we'd started._

" _Last one, hopefully!" Isa cheered._

 _I rotated and pushed the last of the panels in. We were silent as we heard the click when it slid into place, and we held our breath as we waited for the corresponding one. It took a minute, but when we heard it, we were surprised when a shelf dropped down inside where your legs were supposed to sit. We both crowded down on the floor and peered inside. There on the shelf was a set of keys, a letter addressed to Isa, and a copy of Charlie's Last Will and Testament._

"What are you thinking about?" I was jerked out of my memory by Isa speaking.

"The day we found the keys for my chest." I looked down at her. "Have you read that letter from your dad yet?"

Isa shook her head so hard I thought she'd hurt herself. "No. I'm not ready. I don't know if I'll ever be ready."

"And that's fine, sweet girl. Nobody says you have to be."

"I can't believe how much stuff we found inside. I mean Daddy had a whole safe room in there with all of his journals."

"Don't forget the jewelry box filled with all the treasures from your long family history."

Isa nodded. "But Daddy's potion book was the most important. I think it will be more helpful than his spell book."

"I think so too. We'll have to spend some of the upcoming summer going through each and every one of them. But for now …" I reached over to unlock the secret compartment on my trunk and pulled out a small box. "Happy Birthday, my beautiful Isa."

She squealed and opened the small box. "Oh, Edward," she gasped. "It's so beautiful. And the chain. It matches the one I got you for your birthday." She pulled out the pocket watch and fingered the chain that she had bought me.

"And for our first anniversary. Although, nothing can top what you gave me last year."

Isa blushed; it was stunning in its innocence. "Where did you get the heart? I've never seen it before."

I fingered it in the box. "It was my mother's. She would love for you to have it. It also represents my heart. You can keep it next to yours, right where it belongs."

Isa sniffled but held her hand over her heart. "Thank you, Teddy. This means so much to me." She spun around and held her hair up. "Can you put it on me, please?"

I pulled the chain from the box, recalling the day I snuck out to Diagon Alley to get it.

 _Isa and Hermione had been out back playing with Athan, Saffy, and Cortesia, so I had Emmett keep an eye on them and snuck inside to use the floo. Inside Diagon Alley was a store that sold rare jewelry. It didn't take me long to see this was where Isa had gotten the chain for my pocket watch. What did surprise me was the price; it was a very expensive chain, but I also knew how she thought. When the quality was as good as this, then it was worth every penny._

 _I only took a quick glance around the store, seeing earrings, rings, bracelets, and brooches. They were stunning in all their colors and jewels—anywhere from gold to silver to platinum and something I couldn't identify. There were also an abundance of colored gems—both in the jewelry and alone—but I decided that she deserved the best as well. The storeowner gave me the rundown of the pieces I was looking at. They were made by Goblins sometime in the 1600s, and they were very rare. Goblins still made jewelry but not to the caliber of the older ones._

 _The necklace I picked was made of one of those materials I couldn't identify, although, it was a gorgeous silver color. While being simple in design as a chain, the fact that it was doubled up—two circlets per link—made it look thicker than it was. It was dainty and feminine and everything my girl was to me._

 _The price of the necklace didn't come up until I pointed out the piece I wanted. "You do realize this piece is worth half a million galleons?"_

 _I nodded. "That's fine. How do we go about payment?"_

" _Just hand over your keycard, and we can debit it straight from your vault?" His answer came out sounding like a question._

 _I pulled out my wallet and fished out my keycard, handing it over to the very shocked owner. "Thank you."_

 _He was still quiet five minutes later when I walked out the door with Isa's chain in my pocket._

"There you go, my beautiful girl." I laid the clasp on the back of her neck before giving it a kiss. "Right where it should be."

Isa let down her hair before picking up the diamond heart. She looked up at me before laying the softest, sweetest kiss on my cheek. "Thank you, Teddy. I'll wear this with pride. I love it, and I love you."

"I love you, too, Isa."

With that, we watched the rest of the sunrise together.

~*~UHS~*~

The rest of September and part of October flew by with no more noises from the walls. Neither Mike nor I heard anything that could be construed as weird. On the second Saturday in October, Mike came down early before practice to talk about it. We decided to do our catching up as we walked out to the Quidditch pitch.

"Do you think we imagined it?"

I took his questions seriously before shaking my head. "No. If only one of us had heard it, it might be easier to explain away like that, but because it was both of us … No, just no. It was real."

"So what happened? Where has it gone?"

I shrugged, a move so unlike me, but I had no other recourse to show my thoughts. "I don't know. I have no idea."

We continued on in a contemplative silence, both thinking about it and both wondering if we were going insane. I snorted. If hearing voices was a stipulation of going insane then I'd been headed in that direction for years.

Once I'd walked out to the pitch, I watched them practice in the rain for a little while before I left them to it and made my way back to the castle.

It was when I walked through the outer door that I heard, "Pssst, Edward. Over here!"

I spun around to see where the voice had come from, only to see Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, our house ghost, standing out of the way by the window.

"Sir Nick, what are you doing down here?"

"Oh, just wallowing, but come over here out of the way. Filch just washed the floors, and if he catches you traipsing through there, he'll go nuts."

I chuckled at both his wording and the image he'd put into my brain. After a minute, I realized he wasn't laughing with me; in fact, for a ghost, he looked pretty morose. "Are you okay, Nick?"

He sighed, looking down. "Well, no, not really. It's just," he sighed again. "The Headless Hunt has turned down my application to join … again."

"Is it that important to you?"

Nick shook his head, nodded, and shrugged all in the space of a few seconds. "I don't know, maybe?" It came out sounding like a question. "You wouldn't think that a few inches of skin would have such a lingering effect on my afterlife."

"I can understand that. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Could you talk to them?"

I frowned. "Do you want me to write them a letter?"

He suddenly brightened, shaking his head so fast I thought his head would fall off. "No, no. I have invited them to my Death Day Party on Halloween, and they have accepted. You could talk to them there … maybe Isabella too."

"What's a Death Day Party?"

"It's much like a birthday party only instead of a birthday …"

"You celebrate the day you died." Nick nodded. "I don't see why we can't put in an appearance. Can I bring some others? When is it?"

"I'd love for you to bring some of your friends. And my party is going to be on Halloween night. I was beheaded on the October 31st, 1492."

"Excellent. Six hundred and one years since you became a ghost!" I was about to wish him farewell when we both noticed Mike coming back from the pitch. But before we could call out to him, Filch ran into the corridor.

"You! You there! Stop where you are!"

Mike froze in the middle of the corridor, stunned into silence because we'd never heard Filch even raise his voice, but this time, he was yelling.

"You've messed up my floor for the last time! Come with me!" Filch grabbed Mike's arm and towed him off to his office.

"Oh dear," Nick moaned. "I knew this would happen."

"That's not good. Is there anything we can do?" I asked as we followed them around the corner.

"You wait here. I'll go and help out Mike."

"Thank you, Sir Nick, and in doing that, I'll promise we'll all be there on Halloween."

He saluted me with a tip of his head before floating up through the floor.

 _Hey, Edward! Look at this,_ Mike called out to me silently. He showed me through his thoughts that Argus Filch had applied to the scam of Kwikspell. He wanted to be able to do magic as well, but from what I knew, it was an enchanted wand that did a set number of spells and nothing more.

 _Does he really think this will work?_ Mike wondered as he waited for Filch to come back. Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough to look up from the letter.

"What do you think you're doing? It wasn't enough that you made a mess in the corridor, but now you're sneaking peeks at my mail!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean too!"

"There will be hell to pay for this. I'll be talking to Dumble …" Filch trailed off, as what I assumed was Nick started making a whole lot of banging above his office. Well, there was banging, rattling, and crashing. "What is that bloody poltergeist up to now? You get out of my sight!" He stormed out of his office, chasing after the sounds Nick was making, and the minute Filch was gone, Mike ran from the room.

"Quick, Mike, this way." I indicated to the stairs behind me, knowing it was a shortcut to the seventh floor. We ran at the fastest speed Mike could until we were as far away as we could get from Filch.

"Thanks," Mike puffed. "How did you do it?"

I smirked. "I didn't _do_ anything. But we do have a party to attend on Halloween. It should be lots of fun."

"For who?"

I told the Fat Lady our password before following Mike in the door. "Sir Nicholas. But let me tell everyone all at once." I pulled Isa onto my lap after lifting her off my chair and explained to all of them exactly that.

~*~UHS~*~

"Master Edward." Kreacher scared both Isa and I when he popped into the classroom we were studying in. It was once again a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, and we were near the library, learning all we could on Horcruxes. "Kreacher apologizes for scaring you, but Kreacher had to ask something."

"It's all right. What do you need to know?" I waved off his apology; we'd been concentrating so hard that I wasn't listening to anything outside the room. But it all came back as I opened my mind; there was nothing urgent that I could sense.

It was Halloween, and every one of our friends was excited about the party tonight.

"Are you going to Sir Nicholas's Death Day Party?"

Isa and I nodded. "Is there a problem, Kreacher?" Isa asked.

"Kreacher must insist that you have dinner _before_ you go. Let Kreacher make a small dinner party here in this classroom for you and your friends."

"Isn't that rude? Shouldn't we eat what is provided at the party?"

Kreacher shook his head so fast I thought it was going to come off. "No, Miss Bella. Kreacher has been preparing the food for the party. Trust Kreacher; you don't want to eat it. Please."

"All right, okay. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, we'd love for you to have dinner for us here. Just leave out dessert; if there's nothing at the party, we'll head back to the Great Hall for it."

Kreacher let out a big sigh. "Thank you, Master Edward. Kreacher will have it ready by half five. Make sure the humans wear warm clothes." With that, he clicked his fingers and popped back out of the room.

Isa snorted before looking back at the book she was going through. "How bad do you think it will be?"

I looked down at the one I had. "If he came here to beg us to eat beforehand then the food is going to be terrible."

"Hmm," Isa hummed, flicking through the pages. "Sooooooooo," she drew out. "We've learned about Horcruxes, and how they're created. How many do you think Riddle created?"

"An egomaniac like him? Who knows?" I shrugged. "Maybe next week, we should start learning about his early years. It might give us more insight into who he was as a child and how he became what he is. It might even give us an idea on where to start when it comes to Horcruxes."

Isa nodded and looked at me, resting her chin on her hands, elbows on the table. "Egomaniac? As in, full of himself, thinks he'll never be defeated or caught?"

"That's one way to put it, yes. Only this one has a lot of sociopath thrown in too. He doesn't care who he hurts, kills, or destroys to get what he wants."

"What does your world, your psychologists, say about people like him? How does it start?"

I rested my head the same way she was and closed my eyes to think about all that I had learned through my years in medical schools. "Adults who are deemed sociopaths can usually be tracked back to being uncaring or unfeeling as children. They don't feel empathy for others, the world out there." I waved my hand toward the outside of the castle. "Think that they can't feel anything like that. They don't even think they can love unless it serves themselves. So it's possible that anything Riddle holds dear can be a Horcrux. It's something to keep in mind anyway."

Isa nodded. "Okay then. Next week, we start with Dumbledore's memories of Riddle, what he learned of his early years, and what he was like at school. Right now, though, we have dinner and a party to get ready for." She stood and started packing up the books to take back to the restricted section.

I stood to do the same but stopped her before she could pick them up. "I'll take them back, baby girl. You head up and find the others; let them know what we're doing."

She kissed me on the cheek sweetly. "Thank you, Teddy. See you here in a few."

I smiled while I watched her walk away. I was a lucky son-of-a-gun to be able to call her mine. Even though I couldn't wait for her to grow up, I was enjoying every minute of watching her do exactly that.

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Hmm so the resolution with Ron finally happened. There will be more to his story later on, but let me know what you think.**

 **Thank you for reading and I'll see you all in a fortnight.**


	5. Chapter Four - Surprising Revelations

**Hello Everyone! Welcome to another Friday posting. Thank you for joining me on this journey.**

 **Thanks go to Pienuniek for all her awesome work keeping me in line, and writing. This story would not be possible without her. And thanks to Sally Hopkinson for her all of her hard work on those pesky comma's, hopefully I'll get the hang of them one day.**

 **No copyright infringement intended, Twilight and Harry Potter belong to SM and JK Rowling.**

 **I'll let you get on with it. Happy Deathday Nick!**

* * *

 **Chapter Four – Surprising Revelations**

"So what exactly is going to happen at this party, Edward?" George asked from ahead of us while we made our way down to the dungeon where it was going to be held.

We were all dressed up in some dressier clothes that Alice had sent via Athan. She'd had a vision of us attending and wanted us to look our best. The Weasleys tried to give them back to me, but I told them they were a gift, that we always looked after the ones we loved. The guys were dressed in dress pants with button-up shirts and dinner jackets. Isa and Hermione were dolled up in dresses; Isa's was blue, and Hermione's was purple. They had a feathered look to them; they were also wearing black kitten heels with faux fur jackets that had an inner lining of a wool-like substance to keep them warm. They were both beautiful but Isa was more so, although, I could be biased. Esme had even helped put their hair in an up-do with some loose tendrils and some minor makeup before she left to go home.

"I have no idea, to be honest. All I know is that Sir Nick wants me to put in a good word with the Headless Hunt."

It was Fred who asked the follow-up question. "Why won't they let him join?"

"Because of an inch of skin that's holding his head to his neck."

"Really?" Neville snorted. "One whole inch and he can't be on the Headless Hunt."

Hermione sighed. "Seems a little ridiculous to me. I mean, it's an inch, something that never would have happened with a sharp blade. You'd think they'd make an exception for that."

"Rules are rules," Mike piped up.

Isa laughed. "True, Mike, but rules are made to be broken. There are exceptions to every rule, and I think the Headless Hunt are being ridiculous, just like Hermione said."

Everyone nodded to that as Isa spun in her spot to wait for me to walk beside her because she had been walking with Hermione. I held out my arm and she looped hers through mine. "I like the suit, Teddy. Maybe we need a date!"

I chuckled at her. "Where did you hear that term? Although, you may be right."

"I've been reading! There are so many different muggle books and so many rules for dating in that world."

"Don't you date in this one, too?"

Isa shrugged. "I guess so. But being here ten months of the year makes that hard."

"True, but seeing that you don't need as much sleep as the others, and we have Kreacher, I think I can make that happen. Let me see what I can do."

"Thank you, Teddy. It would mean the world to me." I got another one of those fantastically sweet kisses on the cheek after she pulled me down to her. Then she leaned her head on my arm and continued on in silence, even if her mind was anything but. I could see she'd been reading, and she was going through all the scenes she'd read, wondering what I would do on our date.

Although, we both knew it would be a very chaste one, neither of us were ready for anything more.

Everyone else chatted while we walked down the stairs to where the dungeon was located. The decorations in the corridor leading to the dungeon were anything but cheery. There were black cats and bats, pumpkins and candles, and you couldn't go past the ghosts. The smell, though, was what reached Isa and me way before we made it to the right dungeon.

 _Eww. I think we just found out why Kreacher wanted us to eat before we went to the party_ , Isa complained. I leaned down to kiss the top of her head while I nodded.

"That's a smell that will take forever to get out of my nostrils," I whined quietly, which caused Isa to shake in quiet laughter.

 _I know what you mean. Oh, well, we're here now._

We both could see the minute the smell hit the others because all their faces screwed up like they'd sucked on a lemon, which caused us both to laugh silently. We stepped into the doorway and stopped short because of what we saw there.

"How many ghosts do we have in the castle?" Hermione whispered.

Isa shook her head. "Not this many. There must be some from outside as well." I counted at least forty ghosts in the dungeon, and I knew that the Headless Hunt weren't here yet. "Oh look, Hermione, Myrtle's here." Both girls walked off to talk to Myrtle to see what she had been doing.

"Edward, my boy! So good of you to come!" Nick called out loudly when he saw that we'd come. "Where is that lovely mate of yours?"

"She's over there with Hermione, talking to Myrtle. How's it going?"

"It's going well so far. Who else did you bring with you?"

"I have Mike Newtonian here with Neville Longbottom." I pointed to them on my left. "And over here is Fred and George Weasley; you should know these two."

Nick chuckled good-naturedly. "Yes, I seem to have heard about these two before. Come in; come in. I want to introduce you to some friends."

We spent the next hour being introduced and talking to a wide range of ghosts, not just from the castle but from all over. Sometimes, Isa and Hermione were with us, and sometimes, they were off talking to some of the girl ghosts by themselves. I was finally introduced to Myrtle, who seemed to be a high-strung girl; she was also prone to dramatics. She seemed to take a liking to Mike, and whenever Isa and Hermione left her alone, she managed to float in his direction.

We came to the source of the smell in the dungeon. We understood why Kreacher had made sure we ate before we had come. I had never seen so many different types of mold in one place before. There was gray meat drifting in green liquid, and the most awful white-topped side of salmon. Isa shivered and watched with a disgusted look on her face as the ghosts lined up to drift through not only the table, but the food itself with their mouths wide open. At a side table stood the only palatable food, if you liked stinky cheeses.

Isa waited until Peeves the Poltergeist had his turn before she said anything. "Hey, Peeves."

"Little Belly!" he shouted, causing her to giggle.

"Can you taste that?" She pointed to the food he had attempted to eat.

His face fell a little; in fact, that was the first time I'd seen anything other than mischief. "No," he sighed. "When it's like that, rotten and at its most potent smelling, then it comes very, very close." Then his face brightened. "And what I can salvage before the house elves clean it up, I can throw at Filch!"

Isa burst into the most beautiful full-belly laughter. "Maybe you can save some for me to throw too!" she got out in between giggles.

While Isa was making plans for mischief with Peeves, I stood back and watched the Weasley twins hold court with the dungeon full of ghosts. They kept it up until they were interrupted by the pounding of hooves. It seemed that with that one sound, everyone came to a standstill.

 _Think this is them?_ Isa asked me when she turned and walked in my direction. She stood in front of me with her back to my front, facing where the sound was coming from. I wrapped my arms around her just to hold her close.

"I think so, yes. They seem to like a big entrance," I said, causing Isa to snort.

 _Due to the fact that they are worried about an inch of skin, I'd say so. Drama queens._

It didn't seem that Isa was of the mind that Nick should bother joining. In fact, if I was reading her mind right, she thought he should start his own hunt, one for ghosts who were like himself. But would accept all ghosts from all walks of life. Isa thought the Headless Hunt were discriminating against others.

I chuckled. "Well, they wouldn't be the Headless Hunt if they accepted people who had their heads."

Her head fell back as she laughed. "No, I suppose not. But I just don't think it's fair. He's nearly headless. That should be good enough."

"Well, you can tell them that in a minute."

"Don't think I won't!"

"I won't, not even for a minute."

We stopped talking as the hooves became a rolling thunder; they were almost too loud for our ears. And when they reached fever pitch, a hunting horn sounded before a dozen headless horsemen rode through the wall yelling and carrying on. They galloped around the room to the applause of many of the ghosts until they stood in the middle, rearing up high in the air.

Nick had floated over while the hunt were in the midst of their entrance. "Of course, they come late and right when I'm going to do my speech too."

Isa was shaking her head at the display; she was not impressed at all.

"NICK!" a loud voice boomed out of the horseman at the front. "Happy Death Day! How's it hanging?"

"Ha, ha," Nick laughed sardonically. "Still there. Edward, Isabella, this is Patrick, the leader of the Headless Hunt."

"Oooo, you got live ones. Well done, Nicky!" Patrick slapped Nick's back. "Even if you still have your head, you throw a hell of a party."

Isa and I listened as this Patrick continued to berate Nick for the fact that his head was still attached. Well, we listened until Isa was about to blow her top. I decided she was going to have her say, and we were going to make sure the Hunt knew that we were anything but human. The best way I knew how to do that was to let out a growl that was loud enough to grab everyone's attention.

"Not so human after all …" one of the hunt trailed off. "What are you?"

"Vampire," I growled. I watched with satisfaction that some of them blanched whiter, why I had no idea, but it appealed to the vampire in me. "My mate has something to say, and then we will take our leave."

"You make me sick. Your blatant disrespect for your host is one thing—bad as it is—but the way you bully, the way you lord over him like your ideals are everything and everyone should bow down to you because you're the 'Headless Hunt', is downright disgusting. You roll in here late like you're the be all and end all. Did you know we were having a perfectly good time until you got here? No, because as soon as you did, you took over like we had to pay your dues.

"Sir Nicolas is everything you are not. Kind, compassionate, and when the time calls for it, scary. He would have made a fantastic addition to your hunt, but now I'm recommending that he doesn't bother. I don't want him to become what you are." Isa turned away from Patrick and faced Nick. "You are so much more than them, Nick. Start your own hunt if you still want to go on one, but know that I think you are perfect just the way you are."

With that, she stormed out of the dungeons and up the stairs, Hermione, Neville, and Mike following her silently. Fred and George came to stand on either side of me, showing their support. I could see that Patrick was going to argue; he wanted his say, to try and defend himself, but I knew it would only be how he thought it was all in jest. I growled again, louder this time, to get him to stop.

"I don't want to hear your excuses. I don't want to hear your reasons. You are a group of bullies, and you're all about yourselves. Your words and actions, even when _you_ think they're said in jest, hurt. If you'd actually been paying attention to those around you, you would have noticed that only your group thought it was funny. Those laughing outside of that were laughing politely. Take it from someone who has been around the living for a while, you are not friends, you are the opposite, the cool kids who everyone secretly hates." That made them shut their mouths. "I'm sorry, Nick, I cannot support you in your quest to become one of them. I like you just as you are, and I don't want to see you change into an egotistical blowhard. Enjoy the rest of your party."

"Thank you, Edward. Enjoy the rest of your Halloween. Thank Isabella for me as well."

I nodded. "I will. C'mon, guys." Fred, George, and I left and headed up the stairs, finding the others.

"I think I want some dessert. What about you guys?" Isa asked before I could ask how she was. She looked at me, shaking her head. _I'm fine, Teddy. I'm sorry I lost my temper, but I controlled my Siren powers._

I smiled at her because I could see she was proud of herself for that, and truthfully, so was I. I nodded to let her know that I heard her. "Well then, baby girl, let's go get some pudding."

The mood lifted as we made our way up from the dungeons, the farther away we got, the warmer it got; and by the time we got to the first dungeon level, all the guys had stripped off their jackets, the girls their coats, and I had even rolled up my sleeves. The change in temperature didn't affect me as it did them but fitting in was ingrained in me, so I changed the way I wore my clothes to reflect that.

It was when we reached the bottom of the stairs leading to the foyer that Mike and I froze, causing everyone to stop as well.

" _Rip … tear … kill, so hungry, for so long. Kill …"_ the voice hissed. " _Kill … time to kill."_

"Teddy?" I looked down into Isa's scared face. "What's going on?"

"The voice, the sounds. They're back again."

"Is it moving?" I nodded to her question. "Then follow it. Lead us, both of you!"

Mike and I looked at each other before taking off up the stairs after the sounds. Isa and everyone else on our heels.

" _I smell blood … I smell blood."_

"It sounds thirsty. Like a bloodthirsty vampire." I'd ranged out my gift to follow along; what I realized was that none of my family were around, but I'd have to talk to Jasper, Emmett, and Esme as soon as I could. If there was a vampire in the school, other than us, then he needed to be dealt with. "It smells blood, like a vampire would."

"This way," Mike directed when we reached the top of the stairs into the foyer. We followed the sound I couldn't quite place until we came across water. The floor in the corridor was flooded.

"Myrtle's bathroom is that way. She must have flooded it again." We spun around to look at Hermione. "When she's upset, she floods the bathroom; it's why it's been shut down so far this year."

"Okay, we'll take it slowly from here on out." We crept along the flooded corridor, making our way to the bathroom. If we couldn't find anything outside of it, we were going inside. That, although, didn't seem to be necessary because when we came up to the bathroom, we discovered a reflection of some writing on the floor.

I looked up, intending to read it the right way around.

 _The Chamber of Secrets has been opened: Enemies of the heir beware._

"Is that blood?" Isa whispered.

I looked over to see all of my friends were horrified but took a step closer to smell the message.

"It is. And that's not all that's on the wall." I pointed out Mrs. Norris hanging from a wall sconce, causing the girls to gasp then burst into tears.

I heard footsteps running down the corridor splashing through the water. I tuned into the thoughts to see who it was. _Edward, if you can hear me, my father told me to stay out of the halls tonight. I have no idea why … oh my God._

The rest of school were coming up behind all of us, on both sides, including the teachers.

 _I'm sorry, Edward._ I spun to face Draco. _I've been trying to find you since Dad sent his owl an hour ago. He said something was happening tonight, and I had to get to the Common Room. I can't believe this is what he meant. I'm gonna have to cover up the fact that I'm here alone._

I nodded, agreeing that it was something he had to do, especially now that all of his mates were standing around him.

"Enemy of the heir beware." Draco sneered, reading the wall before turning to face Hermione and Isa. "Watch out mudbloods; you'll be next."

Hermione and Isa realized he was using that as a warning, not as a threat, and nodded quietly to themselves even as they sneered back at Draco.

"Enough!" McGonagall stated sternly. "What is the meaning of this?" She waved her hand at the wall but directed her question to me.

I shrugged because I honestly had no idea. "We were coming up from the dungeons and Sir Nicolas's Death Day Party when the girls said they needed to go to the bathroom. We came to this one because it was the closest. When we found it flooded, Isa and Hermione explained that Myrtle flooded the bathroom when she was upset. We found this"—I waved my hand to the wall—"when we got here."

Filch forced his way to the front of the group. "Mrs. Norris," he gasped before he spun to the closest person. "You!" He pointed at Mike. "You did this. You killed Mrs. Norris!" Filch went to advance on Mike, intending to do what I couldn't tell you as there were too many voices in my head. But I moved to stand in front of Mike, causing Filch to come to a stop.

"He didn't do this. We found her like this," I replied in a growl.

"Lies! All lies!" Filch yelled but held his ground.

"Enough, Argus. You will not attack a student, and he is not the one who did this." Dumbledore stepped forward. "This is far beyond the magic of a second year."

"Then he did it! He drained my cat. I knew letting a vampire in here was asking for trouble."

Isa and Hermione snorted, then burst into uncontrollable laughter. I smirked at their thoughts and the thoughts of Fred, George, and Neville.

"Uh … Mr. Filch, Edward eats. And even if he didn't, a cat wouldn't have enough to even satisfy the urge to drink." Neville surprised me by stepping forward. _I've done some reading over the summer,_ he explained.

The girls were still laughing while Filch's face turned an ugly shade of puce before he turned and delicately removed Mrs. Norris from the wall.

"Take her to Professor Lockhart's office, Argus; we'll follow along in a moment …"

"Yes, yes, Argus, come this way. We'll look her over." Lockhart held out his hand like a game show host presenting the items up for winning.

"Go along, Argus," Dumbledore continued on when Lockhart was finished. "The rest of you will go to your Common Rooms …" We all turned to go to our Common Room as well. "Except you seven." He pointed at our group. "You will come with us."

I nodded for all of us before we grouped together and followed Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall to Professor Lockhart's office. Not that any of us were looking forward to going in there. Everyone filed through his door before Isa and I, but the minute Isa stepped foot in before me, Lockhart looked up.

"You two are not allowed in here. I won't have you in …"

"Enough, Gilderoy. I need to talk to them," Dumbledore mumbled from the table where Mrs. Norris had been placed. He was checking her all over like a vet would. "You have already removed them from your class, to which I have had to take over their learning, you will allow me this."

The shock I heard through Snape's and McGonagall's thoughts would have been comical had the situation not been so serious.

"But I don't want …"

"I don't care what you want!" Dumbledore thundered. "I may have been told to hire you. I may have been told to make you happy by the powers that be, but that doesn't mean I have to cater to your every whim. I need to know what they have seen tonight, from them, not Professor McGonagall. You will keep quiet."

The inside of Lockhart's office was interesting, mostly because the only thing he decorated it with was himself. The portraits of himself around the office were all in various stages of undress. Some with curlers in their hair, some dressing in feminine-like, colored bathrobes, there were even some that ducked out of frame because they were only in their underwear, only to reappear in flowery housecoats. Although I think the worst one of all was the one wearing what could almost be described as a "teddy" from the muggle world and a satin dressing gown. Even I cringed at that one.

I could hear amusement in Fred's and George's thoughts and watched as they nudged Neville and Mike, who then tapped Hermione on the shoulder. I looked up to see what they were looking at that gave them the giggles, only to see all of Lockhart's portraits shaking their heads at their real life counterpart. It seemed not even they agreed with his behavior.

Dumbledore looked over to me after smirking at the gigglers. "Please, Mr. Cullen, what happened?"

"Like I explained to Professor McGonagall, we were coming from Sir Nick's Death Day Party to the Great Hall because we wanted some dessert. The food at the party was … interesting. When we reached the foyer, the girls wanted to go to the toilet so we decided to walk them there. About halfway there, we noticed the floor was wet and realized that Myrtle must have flooded the bathroom again; she's been known to do that when she's upset." I paused because I heard Lockhart huff while crossing his arms. I could see his likenesses rolled their eyes at his behavior. "It was when we reached the door to the bathroom that we noticed something was really wrong. We saw the reflected words and looked up to not only read the words but that was also when we found Mrs. Norris hanging from the sconce. She was stiff and unmoving; it wasn't long after that everyone else showed up."

"Thank you, Mr. Cullen." Dumbledore looked up at me. It was like he could tell that I held something back. _You have more to tell me?_ I nodded slightly in response. _You can't say it here?_ I shook my head minutely. _Okay. I shall come to you during your next Defense lesson._

"Argus, Mrs. Norris is not dead. She's just been petrified. This can be fixed."

"I want someone punished for this! I want them to pay for this!" he yelled, pointing toward Mike and me. "They did it; I know they did."

Snape snorted. "As much as I'd like to agree with you, this type of spell is well beyond the magic of a second year. Although, from what I've heard and seen, it might not be out of the reach of Mr. Cullen and Miss Swan."

"Just because they _might_ be able to, doesn't mean they _did_ , Severus. And considering the witnesses they have, I know they didn't." Dumbledore gestured to Mike, Neville, Hermione, Fred, and George. "Not to mention, there wasn't enough time to perform the correct spell before the students and the staff showed up. Don't worry, Argus, once Professor Sprout's mandrakes mature, we will be able to fix her right up. You are just going to have to be patient. For now, Mr. Cullen, you and your friends should head on up to bed."

All of us nodded our heads and made our way out the door quickly while the teachers had started debating about treatments; well, Lockhart did. Because, as far as he was concerned, had he been there, he could have stopped it from happening; he _knew_ the correct counter-curse. That is, of course, if it was a curse that petrified Mrs. Norris because I didn't think it was.

"What do you think did that?" Hermione whispered.

"Whatever it was, it's powerful," Fred mused.

My observation was next. "And able to do it without being seen or saying anything because I can hear someone whispering clear across the castle."

"Wow, really?" George asked as he walked backward up the Grand Staircase. Well, that was until he nearly fell through the vanishing stair. Had it not been for Fred's fast reflexes, I may have had to do a dive off the staircase to rescue him.

"Yup, and after the voice and sounds in the walls, I didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. So, whatever this is or was can do it without uttering a word."

It was that thought that kept us silent all the way up to the Common Room.

~*~UHS~*~

Monday morning, I was waiting for Isa and the others to wake up and get ready for breakfast when I heard Hagrid's thoughts wandering outside his hut. I stood and walked over to the window to see that he was walking around inside the chicken coop we had on the castle grounds. I listened in to find out what had happened, why Hagrid had to replace all of the roosters.

 _Never had to worry 'bout this before. Never heard of such a thing. Why would som'un wanna strangle all the roosters? I don' understand it._

Say what? When did that happen? Surely, I would have heard something like that happening.

 _Darndest thing too; same night as the bloody message on the wall. Can't believe the chamber is open … again._

I looked behind me when I heard footsteps on the stairs only to find Fred and George making their way into the Common Room. They both nodded their heads before sitting at a table to double-check some homework before we all went down to breakfast. I went back to studying Hagrid's thoughts; sometimes, they were hard to follow because he bounced between so many all the time. He never really followed one train of thought for very long, and this time was no different. I was hoping he'd follow that thought with what he knew about the chamber, but he skipped right over that to something that was inconsequential. Not that it mattered because Isa walked down the stairs at that point, coming right to my side.

"Anything wrong, Teddy?"

I shrugged. "No, just strange. Someone strangled the roosters over the weekend; Hagrid was just replacing them."

"Huh. Why would they do that?"

Again, I shrugged because it was weird. "Don't know. I'll keep an ear out."

"How can you do that? Does your ear leave your head? Do you send it out to find secrets?"

I chuckled at her naiveté because it was just so beautiful but also the picture she had painted in her mind. I could see me walking around with one ear while the other had been placed around the castle as we went between classes. She even had me give it to Hermione to take into their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. "It's a figure of speech, Isa. It just means that I'll listen harder to what is going on around us. It doesn't mean that my ears will be detached from my head."

"Ooooh." I could see the dawning on her face at the realization that it wouldn't be a physical thing, then she laughed at herself. "Okay, that makes more sense."

While we stood there enjoying the quiet before the rush of the day, I listened in on Fred's and George's thoughts. It seemed they had followed my thoughts from earlier and thought Isa's idea had some merit. I chuckled, not with taking off my ears but with spy gear to listen in on conversations not meant for people to hear. Even though I was listening to their thoughts, I also thought about how I loved these little moments together; they reminded me of everything I had and everything I would never take for granted. Because, if I did and I hurt her again, I could never live with myself. I knew we would fight and argue and make up, it was an inevitable fact of life, but to take for granted what we'd found would be wrong on so many levels.

Isa and I both heard when the others made their way down the stairs into the Common Room, and once we were all together, it was decided that we'd get breakfast before we ran out of time and had to go to classes.

After Colin's inevitable run in with Neville for his morning picture, we made our way to our table. It was while we were sitting there that Ginny and her friends came down for breakfast. I had to do a double take because she wasn't looking like the normal, happy girl that she was over the summer. She looked tired and worn out. She was twitchy and picking at her breakfast, but it was her thoughts that caught my attention.

 _Can't do it, mustn't … have to talk to him … tell him no._ Ginny looked around, and from her thoughts, she was relieved no one was looking at her. _Must see … see what he wants to show … feel it all over my hands …_

I wasn't sure what to make of them; they were concerning me. Ginny seemed to be all over the place. I could tell that something was bothering her, and it seemed it had to do with this _him_ she was referring to. Although, I was hesitant to say anything about it because of what we had just gone through with Ron. It was another thing I was going to have to keep my ear on, a thought that made me snort.

I wasn't surprised when Isa and Hermione pulled me off to one side on our way to History of Magic; they were just as perceptive as I was.

"What's going on with Ginny?" they both asked when Neville and Mike were out of earshot.

"I don't know." I held my hands in the air when they both started protesting. "Hush, you two, before you say something out loud that you shouldn't." They looked away shamefaced. "I know you girls love her and that's great. We just have to watch what we say when we're passionate. As for Ginny, I couldn't get a good read." I tapped my temple. "Her thoughts were all over the place, but she was thinking about telling _him_ no. A boyfriend maybe?"

"She needs us," Hermione surmised. She looked at Isa then back at me. "You won't mind if I pinch Bella at lunch and we take Ginny off outside, maybe?"

"You don't need my permission, girls." I chuckled. "You may be right. Go be her friend at lunch. I'll entertain the boys."

With that, Isa and Hermione linked arms and, with heads bent together, made their way into class. I smirked at Jasper as I took a seat next to my girl. He had heard everything that had happened in the hall. _Want me to keep a check on Ginny, too? See what I can feel?_

I nodded just a little to let him know it might be a good idea. We could never have too many people keeping an eye out.

Jasper had taken a more hands-on approach when it came to the history of magic. He'd made it into more of a drama class, and when he had to have us learn and recite dates and places of battles, he had us all reenact them like we'd been there. Dumbledore had thought it was such a marvelous idea that he had extended Jasper's classroom to give us more room to create the reenactments. One side had comfortable chairs set in graduated rows so we could all see everything perfectly. In all honesty, he'd made it one of the most fun lessons in the castle; everyone was praising him for it.

 _Guess his predilection for history and reenactments has finally come in handy._

It was something that he had always loved but could hardly ever attend because most of the ones he wanted to attend were in the southern states of America.

That day, however, the lesson started out differently. Because before he could open his mouth, Isa had her hand in the air.

"Yes, Miss Swan. What is it?"

"Being our History of Magic teacher, I presume you would have read up on the history of Hogwarts? Right?"

Jasper smirked. "You would presume correctly. Why do you ask?"

I leaned back in my seat because Isa's next question was going to be a doozy. There was that, and I also wondered why I hadn't thought of asking him myself.

"Well …" she stretched the word out. "What have you read about the Chamber of Secrets?"

I could see Jasper was so taken aback by her question that he was unsure how to answer since the teachers were trying to keep this as quiet as possible. But he also knew that for the students to be best prepared they had to have all the information.

I saw the moment he gave in, as did the rest of the class because they all leaned forward in their seats.

He took a deep breath then let it out slowly when he started to talk. "As you all _should_ know by now, Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the most talented witches and wizards of the time. The houses are named after them: Godrick Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. They started the school as a way to seek out and help children who showed an aptitude for magic, but it was also a way to stop others of the muggle community from persecuting those from the wizarding world.

"The school ran like a well-oiled machine for a while until a crack developed between the founders. Three of them were happy to search out any and all children who proved to be magical; one, however, was not."

"Three guesses as to who that was," Neville muttered but not quietly enough because everyone heard him.

Jasper pointed at Neville before he started to pace. "Exactly. Salazar Slytherin thought it should be kept between all magical families, that the children should be pure blood. He didn't think children from muggle parents could be trusted, or that their parents could be trusted. After one particularly loud argument, Slytherin decided to pack up and leave, but he stopped at the doors to leave some parting wisdom. 'Somewhere in this castle, I have built a chamber. In this chamber, I have sealed something horrifying; it will not and cannot be opened until my heir returns to this castle. And when he does, all those who are unworthy of studying magic will be purged from the school.'

"Of course, according to any documentation that I could find, the castle has been searched many, many times and nothing has ever been found. So who knows if it's true or not."

"Professor Whitlock." Hermione's arm shot up after Jasper had finished. "What does the legend say resides in the chamber?"

"The only thing I could find was that the thing in the chamber is a monster. A monster that is so terrifying that no one but the heir of Slytherin can control it. If, of course, there is a chamber."

The class was silent after that. Jasper had given them a lot to think about, but not just them, me too. I wondered when I was brewing the Polyjuice Potion later if the Room of Requirement would tell me anymore about it.

~*~UHS~*~

Our last class that day was Muggle Studies with Esme. Isa skipped alongside me. Her thoughts were focused on how happy she was to be getting out of Potions for the day. She was glad she could be in a house instead of the gloomy dungeons. Every one of the second year Gryffindors thought the same. The notice on the bulletin board, stating that we were going to have a trial Muggle Studies lesson to see the inside of Esme's new classroom, had been received with cheers.

Esme had really taken to her role as professor and was loving every minute of it. The fact that she could still see Isa, Hermione, and I everyday was a big plus for her. She never thought she could be a teacher while we had been in the muggle world, and she very well might have been right. But here in the wizarding one, she was free to be herself and teach the very thing she loved the most: children.

She met us outside, as she did with all classes, and made sure we all placed our wands in the lockbox. This was a completely magic-free classroom.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" Esme called as she swept through the door to the muggle house Dumbledore had built on the outside of the grounds.

He'd pulled the spell boundary back enough that Esme was able to set it up with all the amenities that muggles had, including electricity. The house had been protected by an unplottable spell and could no longer be seen from the edge of the cliff opposite the school, but other than that, it worked exactly as it should.

"Good afternoon, Professor Cullen!"

"And a very good afternoon to you as well, Mr. Weasley."

Ah, yes, our guest. Arthur was here under the guise that he was auditing the new class on the way of muggles. It wasn't only that, though. He'd been advised that if he was going to fiddle with muggle technology then he had better learn how to use it properly in the first place. The Ministry had thought it a fitting punishment because they didn't understand his curiosity, but he was loving it.

"Good afternoon, Professor Cullen. What are we learning about today?" Arthur asked with as much excitement as children seem to have at Christmas.

"Today, I'm going to explain the basics of electricity, one of the muggle inventions that they use to cover for their lack of magic."

I suddenly realized I didn't miss electricity at all, a surprising revelation.

It was during that lesson that I picked up on some interesting thoughts.

It seemed that while we had wiped Ron's memory of everything we had deemed important, it hadn't really changed his disposition. He was still kind of nasty, jealous, and it seemed he'd found a taste for spreading rumors. The thing I found funny was that he was too afraid to spread rumors around about me, so he thought it was best to spread them around about Mike.

And that one was a doozy.

Ron was telling people he thought Mike was the heir of Slytherin.

It seemed the Weasleys were going to give me a headache this year. One was being nasty, even after having his thoughts altered; the other seemed to be losing who she was. Ginny was the one I was worried about the most.

After class, we walked away from everyone else, and I filled them in on what I'd heard about Ron spreading lies.

"Why Mike?" Neville asked.

Isa snorted. "Because he's terrified of Edward. He can't or won't say anything bad about him, so he aims for the next best person. Because you, Neville, are known as the chosen one, the only person he has left is Mike."

We continued talking about the rumors, eventually finding ourselves outside the bathroom where the words had been scrolled on the wall.

It was Mike who actually broke the silence we'd found ourselves under. "Do you really think there's a Chamber of Secrets?"

"I think so," Hermione murmured. "The teachers are scared. You can see it in their posture and the way they talk. It's almost like they've been expecting it."

I nodded in agreement but didn't voice anything because Hermione was right, in a sense, but the thing that bugged me is that they thought around it. It's like they didn't want to acknowledge the thought that was floating around inside their heads. It had piqued my curiosity, and I wanted to know what it was.

"Hey, Teddy. What's this?"

I spun around to see that Isa was pointing to something on the floor and wall near where Mrs. Norris had been hung. I wandered over to get a closer look only to stop short when I realized what the marks were. "They're burn marks, but what could have caused it? Are there any more?"

The five of us searched up and down the corridor searching to see if there were any more marks, but the only ones there were outside the door to the girls' bathroom. It was at that point we heard an unholy wail come from inside the bathroom. Isa and Hermione looked at each other before bolting in the door. I knew it was Myrtle, and so did Mike and Neville, but we thought it would be best if the girls handled that particular situation.

I looked around to see if I could see anything else out of place only to find Neville staring off in the direction of the window. I walked up beside him, trying to see what he saw. "What are you looking at?"

Neville looked up at me. "I know as a vampire most things instinctively shy away from you, humans included." He smirked. "Usually."

I laughed. "Usually."

"Well, have you ever seen spiders do that?" He pointed over to the window he was staring at; I looked to see that the spiders were fleeing the castle.

"Huh," I huffed. "I've never taken a whole lot of notice before because Esme keeps our houses immaculate, but I've never seen insects flee at all."

"Never?"

"Nope."

"That's interesting," Mike joined in. "Are all things afraid of you?"

I nodded. "All except everyone I've met since joining the wizarding world." I chuckled. "As far as I was concerned, we were the top of the food chain, but I've learned so much since you came to us, Mike, and even more in the last year, that I know now that isn't true."

Isa and Hermione came out of the bathroom then, a little shaky and pale.

"What happened?"

They both shrugged but it was Isa who answered. "We have no idea. We couldn't get her to talk, but at least she's stopped wailing."

I nodded, reaching out to hold Isa's hand. "Well then, let's go and get some dinner. We've got loads of homework to do tonight."

They all nodded before we turned to head toward the Great Hall, but the scorch marks and fleeing spiders would stay with me.

~*~UHS~*~

Later that evening, we were studying with the twins in the library. We were all off to the side, away from everyone else because the rumors that Ron had started made everyone stare a little and whisper when they would see Mike. So we'd placed him as far away from the rest of students in the library as possible while also trying to shield him from them.

What was interesting, though, was that while everyone else in the school was speculating about Mike being the heir of Slytherin. Our table, well everyone but Isa, Hermione, and I, were contemplating the possibility that Draco was.

 _It's possible that his father is involved, which could lend validity to their idea,_ Isa thought to me.

I ran my hand through my hair, thinking on her point before whispering back to her. "Just because his father is probably involved doesn't make him the heir. It could mean that his father is in contact with the one who is. He's a Death Eater after all."

 _Hmm, true. But I suppose the only way to find out properly is to ask._

"Yeah, I'll leave a note in the suit of armor after lessons tomorrow. Maybe he'll have some more information for us."

"What do you think, Edward?" George suddenly pulled me back into the conversation about Draco.

"I suppose anything is a possibility. But I haven't heard anything from him or anyone else, which makes it strange."

That shut them all up because they hadn't even thought to ask whether I'd heard anything.

"So you've heard nothing?" Fred asked.

"Nope, not a damn thing. I find that very frustrating because someone has to know something."

The rest of our study session was quiet as they all contemplated my words. Because if I hadn't heard anything, then what could be going on?

~*~UHS~*~

 _Phew, I'm so glad we have this lesson, just the two of us. I love our friends, teachers, and lessons, but this is a much easier environment to learn in,_ Isa thought when we walked into our DADA lesson.

"Me too. Plus, I feel we're actually doing something and not just learning. Dumbledore's expecting us to learn what we can to help in the eventual war that's coming."

Isa looked up at me in surprise from unpacking her bag. "You don't think we can stop him from coming back?"

"Someone this determined will find a way." I paused. "I'm sure we've had this conversation before."

"Probably. And we'll more than likely have it again. But you really think so?"

"I do. If he's gone to the length of making horcruxes, I have no doubt he'll find some dark magic to bring himself back. Something that we'll least expect."

Before Isa could argue her point, Professor Dumbledore walked in; he seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. "I'm sorry I can't stay today, but I did want to hear what you couldn't tell me the other day."

Isa and I weren't surprised by this information. Dumbledore often left us to our own devices, only staying for the occasional lesson. Although, he was due to stay for this one, but it seemed he had something else going on.

"There's something going on in the castle. On two separate occasions, there've been strange noises and even a voice that's been inside the walls." I decided to pull no punches, and I could tell that what I had said was nothing Dumbledore had been expecting.

"Excuse me, what?"

"On two separate occasions, Mike and I have heard something move about in the walls of the castle. It's also spoken, out loud, but it seems that only Mike and I can hear it."

I could see that I'd stunned him, and so could Isa because she walked around to him and pulled a chair out for Dumbledore to sit on. "What have you heard, and when?"

I sat down across from him, pulling Isa onto my lap and explained to him what I'd heard and when.

 _Oh my goodness. It's not possible …_ Dumbledore's thoughts snapped shut after that one had squeaked through.

"What's not possible?"

I could sense a hesitancy before he spoke. "That there is a chamber or that it's been opened. The school's been searched and nothing has ever been found."

I narrowed my eyes while I looked Dumbledore over. There was something … something he wasn't telling us.

Even Isa noticed. _He's hiding something._

I nodded in agreement but decided not to push, for now.

"And you say that only you and Mike can hear it?"

Isa answered this one. "Yes, Professor. Both times, I've been with Teddy, and I haven't heard anything. If it wasn't for him telling us about it, we would have been as clueless as everyone else."

"Has there been anything else?"

"We found some scorch marks outside the girls' bathroom where Filch's cat was found." I paused. "I'm not sure if this is anything, but when we were there, we saw spiders leaving, or fleeing, the castle. It could have been because of me, but it's something I've never seen before."

"I … I …" Dumbledore sat stunned. It seemed we had managed to surprise him so thoroughly that he couldn't respond to us. When he had nothing for us, Isa went over to the cupboard that we had stored our Pensieve in to bring it back to the table.

"Should we start our journey while we wait for Professor Dumbledore to come out of his stupor?"

I nodded. "Let's start with something related to his parents. It might give us insight into how his childhood influenced him." I waved my wand around the bowl to get the memory that we needed. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Isa and I literally dove straight in.

When we landed, we were surprised. We were in a country lane, edged by high, tangled hedgerows. It was a stunning summer day with beautiful blue skies and the sun shining brightly, so brightly, in fact, that I looked down to see if I was sparkling. Of course, I wasn't, but that didn't stop Isa from giggling at me for my reaction.

"I don't think you're going to sparkle in someone else's memory, Teddy."

I chuckled. "No, I think not." I looked around to get my bearings only to find someone who was dressed completely strange, considering he was trying to fit in. It seemed the more wizards who had never been in the muggle world tried to fit in, the more they stood out. "I think we're supposed to be following that gentleman over there."

I pointed out the portly man to Isa, who promptly burst into giggles. "What is he wearing?"

We both looked toward the man who was looking at a wooden sign sticking out of the brambles. Or at least attempting to read them because anyone who had to wear such decidedly thick glasses had to be almost blind. But it was his actual clothing that had both of us giggling like schoolchildren. Over a striped one-piece bathing suit he wore what one would call a frock coat or a morning jacket; he also had on spats with his shoes—formal dress shoes that had a white overlay with buttons running up the side. We couldn't decide what was more ridiculous, the shoes or the one-piece bathing suit he had on.

Why did wizards think they would fit in when they dressed like that? His robes would have been less conspicuous.

"I have no idea." I finally answered Isa's question.

We walked over to see the signpost that the oddly dressed man was still looking at, only to see it had one arrow pointed the way we came from, which said: Great Hangleton - 5 miles and one in the other direction that said: Little Hangleton - 1 mile. Eventually, our friend moved off in the direction of Little Hangleton, and of course, Isa and I followed.

What I couldn't help but find amusing was that as we wandered along behind our wizard friend, down the picturesque country lane, was that Isa kept giggling about the hilariously funny view of the hairy legs between the gentleman's coat and his shoes. She couldn't get over how hairy they were and how it looked to be dressed as he was.

Well, she was giggling until we rounded the corner in the lane and it dropped off steeply down the side of a hill, revealing a beautiful little town nestled in a valley between two rather large mountains. It was stunning with all its little houses and stores. It even had a very old church and graveyard to match. But what stood out was the stately manor that was nestled on the hillside opposite us. You could tell it had been well looked after by the neatly manicured lawn surrounding it.

I wondered if it was to the church we were going because that was most likely where all the records for the town were kept. But to my surprise, we followed our friend, who was a little winded from walking down the hill at a trot, around a bend in the path to a hole in the hedge.

I couldn't imagine why we had to come at the town from so far away, even as we followed the wizard along a dirt track that was surrounded by wilder hedgerows than those we'd left behind on the path into town. It didn't seem to matter that it was a beautiful sunny day; where we had followed him was dark, so dark due to the fact that the trees were almost blocking out the sky. We watched as the wizard pulled out his wand and eyed what I could see was a house that had been tangled up within the tree trunks.

 _That's an odd place for a house._

"I couldn't agree more," I murmured.

I didn't think anyone was inhabiting the house due to the fact that the majority of the tiles had fallen from the roof; so many in fact, you could see the beams from where we stood. The beams themselves weren't in very good condition, and nature seemed to be taking it back, considering all the moss on the walls that were exposed. But even as I thought that, a window was thrown open and some steam or smoke came from within.

 _Really? Why would you want to live here?_

"Whoever lives here may not have a choice, Isa." She looked up at me as I spoke. "There are places and people all over the world who don't have much money, and this is all they can afford." I pointed to the dilapidated house in front of us. "They make do with what they have and make the most of it, but this is everywhere."

 _That's so sad. There's a lot of this in the muggle world?_

I nodded. "But it happens in the wizarding one, too. Look at the Weasleys. While their house is held together by magic, they don't have a lot of money. I'm sure there are other families out there like that."

 _Oh, I never thought about it like that before. But I suppose you're right._

We lapsed back into silence when the wizard in front of us took cautious steps toward the house itself. He paused once again, staring at the front door where a dead snake had been nailed to it—a warning perhaps. He went to take another step but froze when a man dressed in rags jumped from a tree nearby. It caused our friend to leap backward, step on the tail of his jacket, and nearly fall on his rather padded backside.

The man who had jumped from the tree was quite frightening to look at, and that meant a lot coming from a vampire. His eyes stared off in different directions, his hair was so matted that you couldn't tell what color it was, and he was missing several of his teeth.

" _You are not welcome here!_ " he hissed.

 _Wait, what?_ Isa wondered. While I tried to figure out what she was talking about, our wizard friend took a few steps backward. Not that I blamed him.

He was brave, though, because he began to speak. "Good morning. I'm from the Ministry of Magic …"

" _You're not welcome_."

 _I still don't understand._

"Er … I'm sorry, I don't understand …"

That was when it clicked. I looked between the door with the snake, Isa, and the two gentlemen in front of us. The bedraggled one was talking in, "Parseltongue," Isa and I blurted out together. "What is he saying?" Isa continued.

"The one in rags is telling the oddly dressed one that he isn't welcome here," I answered with a little panic because the filthy one pulled out both a wand and a knife. It wasn't what they were that worried me, or the fact that he couldn't hurt us; it was the color on the knife that did it. Well that, and the fact that he was advancing on the man from the Ministry.

All of a sudden, there was a bang and the ministry official was on the ground with nasty yellowish puss squirting out of his nose. At the same time as the bang, the door of the house flew open and another man stormed out. He was shorter with broad shoulders and longer arms, making him look disproportionate. "Morfin!" he shouted at the younger one, who was laughing hysterically. "Ministry, is it?"

"Correct," the ministry official stated, pointing his wand to his nose and stemming the flow of puss. "I'm Bob Ogden. Are you Mr. Gaunt?"

"I am. But you are on private property without announcing yourself. Can't expect my son not to defend himself. _Get in the house, no arguing._ " The first part was said to Ogden but the second was said to Morfin in Parseltongue. The young boy looked like he was going to argue, but with one hard look from his father, he walked through the front door, slamming it behind him.

"Defend himself from what?" Ogden demanded.

Mr. Gaunt huffed. "Muggles, busybodies, intruders, and filth. Wonder which category you fall under?"

"Mr. Gaunt, I'm here to discuss the series of breaches your son made against wizarding law in the early hours of this morning. We sent owls …"

"Have no use for owls, so never read your letters."

"Yes, well maybe if you had, you would have had advanced warning I was coming," Ogden stated tartly. "Now, may we continue this inside?"

"All right, come in. A lot of bleedin' good it'll do you," Gaunt muttered, turning toward the door, not waiting to see if Ogden would follow.

The door was left open, so we all walked through to see a three-room house. Morfin was sitting in an armchair that had seen better days, crooning in Parseltongue to an adder that was being twisted in his hands. We could see the living room where Morfin was, as well as the kitchen and a door to the other room.

"What's he saying to that snake?" Isa whispered.

"You don't want to know," I whispered back while I looked around. "Look, there's someone else here."

Isa spun around when the clatter of a pot hitting the ground hit her ears. The poor girl, while not as filthy as her brother and father, seemed to blend into the dirty bricks around her.

" _Pick it up,_ " Gaunt bellowed at the poor girl. "M' daughter, Merope. Not real bright that one; she's a squib."

 _Oh, the poor thing._ Isa sympathized. _She doesn't deserve this._

"Morning," Ogden muttered when Merope turned in his direction before she spun around and started stirring something on the dilapidated stove. "To get straight to the point, your son performed magic in front of a muggle last night."

"Your point? He was teaching the filthy muggle a lesson. So what?"

"It's against magical law to perform magic in front of muggles."

" _What_? It's a law now?" Gaunt bellowed.

"Yes." Ogden pulled out a scroll. "This is a summons …"

"Summons? Summons? Who are you to summon us anywhere? Do you know who we are?" Gaunt spat while waving his hand around with a ring on one of his dirty fingers. Before he stalked over to his daughter and yanked her over by the chain around her neck. "We're the last living descendants of _Salazar Slytherin!_ We have been pure blood for generations, and we've never betrayed that. How dare you presume to tell us what to do?"

Gaunt let go of his daughter, who gasped for breath before crawling back to the corner she had stood in while the yelling was going on.

Ogden seemed to find his backbone. "It doesn't matter who our relatives are. We are not allowed to do magic in front of muggles, and your son performed a hex or a jinx."

"Oh, I knew you were a muggle-lover the minute I saw you …" Gaunt went to continue but was interrupted by the clopping of hooves outside their door.

There was laughing and jingling. Morfin turned around with a hiss, his expression expectant. But what Isa found interesting was the look on Merope's face. She'd gone ghostly pale, was trembling in her shoes, and was shaking her head with a look of horror on her face.

"My goodness, what an eyesore!" a decidedly female voice rang out. "Why doesn't your father get rid of it?"

The voice that answered was male. "Believe it or not, we don't own this part. It's owned by an old grump, Gaunt, and his two children. I could tell you some stories about the son; according to the town, he's quite mad …"

The girl's laughter rang out even as the clopping noises came closer. She seemed to find this young man entertaining.

"Tom!" she gasped "Is that a snake nailed to the door?"

 _Tom? That can't be Tom Riddle or Voldemort. He wouldn't be born yet!_ Isa yelled in her thoughts, causing me to wince at the volume. But she was also completely right. This would have been before his time.

"You're right, Cecilia, darling," Tom's voice followed. "That would be the son's work. Come on, let's get away from here."

The voices, clopping, and jingling sounds all faded away. But even we could feel the tension in the house ramping up.

"' _Darling,_ '" Morfin hissed in Parseltongue. " _See he has her, so he'd never want you!_ "

Gaunt turned so fast toward his son, only to spin around to stare down his daughter. " _What is he talking about?_ "

Morfin cackled. He found the situation hysterical while his sister was shaking her head, hoping, I think, that he wouldn't throw her under the bus. I didn't think Morfin had any affection for his sister because he did just that. " _She likes looking at that muggle. Always in the garden. Peering through the hedge at him."_ Morfin smirked viciously all while Merope begged him with her eyes not to. " _And last night, hanging out of the window waiting for him to get home, wasn't she?_ "

" _You were hanging out the window to stare at a muggle?_ " Gaunt asked quietly, too quiet.

It seemed that all three of them had forgotten they had an audience. While, poor Ogden seemed bewildered by the hissing and rasping that was going on.

"This isn't going to end well, Isa."

She shook her head, not in disagreement but agreeing with me. "I can see that. Poor Merope. What are they saying though?"

I was distracted from her question while Gaunt advanced step-by-step on Merope, who seemed to be trying to bury herself into the wall behind her.

"TEDDY!" Isa yelled out loud, causing me to snap my head around to her. "What are they saying?"

"Sorry," I said sheepishly before explaining what had been going on. "I'll continue to translate as we go."

"Thank you."

Our attention was drawn back to Gaunt because he'd finally reached his daughter, and she'd whimpered, scared.

" _Is it true?_ " he hissed in Parseltongue. Merope was frantically shaking her head, still trying to sink into the wall. " _You blood traitor, you filthy squib, lusting after a disgusting MUGGLE!_ "

Morfin cackled. " _Don't worry. He didn't look so good after I got him!_ "

It was that statement that seemed to send Gaunt over the edge. Isa, Ogden, and I all lunged with a shouted "NO" when Gaunt wrapped his hands around Merope's throat. Fortunately, while Isa and I were unable to do anything, Ogden was able to.

He pulled out his wand and shouted, " _Relashio!_ " The spell caused Gaunt to be forced away from his daughter, tripping over a chair and falling flat on his back.

Ogden ran for his life when Morfin roared in rage and charged at him, brandishing the knife. As much as we wanted to stay and help poor Merope, we followed Ogden, with Merope's screams ringing in our ears.

"I want to help her. I wish we could help her," Isa cried.

I pulled her up into my arms, hushing her softly while I followed along behind the two who'd left the house. "I know, baby. I'm sorry; I wish we could, too. I have a feeling we'll see more that we'll want to stop but will be unable to."

"I know," came her muffled reply, but she stayed buried into my neck.

I followed them along the path that led to the hedge then watched as Morfin paused before turning the other direction as laughter rang out from the path on the other side. What we found when got there was Ogden, flat on his back, being laughed at by a handsome couple on horses. One being Tom Riddle, the apparent father to Lord Voldemort.

Once we'd seen all there was to see, we were sucked out of the memory, landing in our bodies standing on either side of the Pensieve.

"Wow," Isa mumbled.

"Yeah, wow."

I sat down, staring at Isa, who hadn't moved yet and Dumbledore who was still in the room. Apparently, what he had to do wasn't that important.

"What did you see?" he asked quietly.

I held my hand out for Isa as she stumbled around the table, still in shock, and sat on my lap.

"It was a scene with the Gaunts. Morfin, Merope, and their father, along with a Ministry official by the name of …"

"Bob Ogden," Dumbledore finished. "Yes, sad day that was in his history."

"What happened to Merope? Was she okay?" Isa whispered. "I can't believe there are people out there who do that."

"Merope lived, if that's what you're asking. And it seemed her magic flourished after Morfin and Marvolo were taken to Azkaban. Not long after they were locked up, there was a scandal in that little town where the squire's son and the daughter of the town's grump ran away and got married. Only for Tom to return a few months later muttering about how he'd been deceived."

Isa didn't get what Dumbledore was saying, but I did.

"She used a spell or a love potion to pull him under, then after a while, she stopped using it, hoping he'd fallen in love with her as well. Only once it wore off, he left her alone, and probably pregnant."

Dumbledore nodded. "It's all speculation on my part, of course. But any information you could dig up would be most helpful." Dumbledore stood. "And if you hear _anything_ else, please come to me."

"We will," Isa and I vowed.

We were quiet as Dumbledore left the room, and for a while, we just sat there and said nothing. Isa was the one who broke the silence. "So, it seems that Voldemort took his grandfather's ideas on Pure Bloods. I wonder if he found out about his _great_ heritage too."

"If he found out about being Slytherin's heir? _Oooooh._ " It clicked. "The Chamber of Secrets."

Isa nodded. "The Chamber of Secrets."

"I wonder, then, if it has been opened before?"

"Something else to add to the list of finding out. But, wouldn't Professor Dumbledore have told us, or even thought about it?"

"Hagrid did. His thoughts were, _'I can't believe the chamber is opened … again.'_ Let's hope that it hasn't."

"I'm not holding my breath," Isa groaned. "But maybe we should go and chase Professor Dumbledore down and ask. That could be what the teachers are hiding."

"Maybe. All right, let's see where he went to." I ushered Isa off my lap. She started to pack up our books and put the Pensieve away while I pulled out the Marauder's Map. I laid it out on the table and tapped it with my wand. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Isa giggled. "I love this map. It's so interesting how it works."

"I know. Whoever made it were brilliant." I agreed as I watched the map ink itself onto the parchment. I looked over all the names, noting that all our friends were in their classes. I checked the Great Hall, the Hospital, and all around the grounds, seeing Hagrid and all the other professors.

I noted that Professor Dumbledore hadn't gotten far but was heading in the direction of Gargoyle corridor and his office. "Ah, there he is." I pointed out to Isa. "If we hurry we can catch him at his office."

"Okay, let's go then."

When I was about to tap the map with my wand, I noticed a name floating around in the Gryffindor Tower.

"Pettigrew, Pettigrew. I've heard that name before, but where?" I mumbled. I wasn't sure where I'd heard it. I'd have to think on it later. I tapped the parchment again. "Mischief Managed."

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Hmm I wonder where Edward has heard that name before? I also what happened the last time the chamber was open? (Shhh to those who have read HP before, we don't want to spoil it for the others!)**

 **Let me know what you think, see you all in a fortnight!**


	6. Chapter Five - First Quidditch Match

**Hello everyone! I'm so glad you're all still here on this journey with me. It's once again Friday night here in Australia and that means it's time for another posting of Under Her Spell. Book Three is coming along, but is slower now that I'm back at work, and with my injury.**

 **Enough of that though.**

 **Thanks go to Pienuniek and Sally Hopkinson. Without either of them each chapter wouldn't be filled with well thought out ideas, or look as pretty as they do. I'd be lost without either of them.**

 **I don't own either Twilight or Harry Potter, that honor goes to SM and JK Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.**

 **I'll let you get on with the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter Five – First Quidditch Match**

Isa grabbed her bag while I placed the map in mine before looping it over my shoulder. We took off out the door and headed toward Dumbledore's office. We didn't run into any of the other professors so it didn't take us long to get there, but by then, the Gargoyle was back guarding the staircase.

I walked up to the Gargoyle and whispered the password that Isa wouldn't let the twins hear when Ron was throwing up slugs. "Cockroach Clusters."

The Gargoyle sprung aside with what looked suspiciously like a smirk, and the wall opened to reveal the stone escalator. When the stairs started to rise, Isa and I jumped aboard, riding them all the way to the top. I could hear Dumbledore puttering around; in fact, it sounded like he was pacing. He must have known, though, that I was going to be listening because his mind was closed to me. I knocked on his door when we reached the top and opened it when Dumbledore called for us to come in.

Dumbledore came to a stop when he saw Isa step through the door, but his body language screamed defeat when he saw me. His shoulders slumped, his face dropped into a sad expression from the thoughtful one he had, and he just seemed to lose the confident posture he usually held.

"What's going on, Professor?" Dumbledore waved us over to some chairs in front of his desk as he took his seat. "Ever since the note was scribed on the wall, I've heard some interesting thoughts. Most have been thought about it in a roundabout way, well, all except for Hagrid. His thoughts were ' _I can't believe the chamber is open … again._ '"

Dumbledore sighed, his head dropping against the back of his chair. "I was hoping it was a hoax. Then and now."

Isa gasped. "So it has happened before, but why wouldn't you tell us?"

"Because we never found any evidence of it, anywhere. Yes, the chamber was supposedly opened before. Yes, someone was blamed, and yes, they were duly punished for it. But after that, nothing ever happened again. We were able to push it out of our minds because it didn't seem to have any bearings around the castle."

I watched his body language carefully; there was still something he wasn't saying. "What happened?"

Dumbledore sighed again. This time was more resigned. "All I'm willing to say is that someone was hurt around the time the chamber was opened before. But we were unable to confirm whether or not it was due to that. Because it was unconfirmed, and it stopped after that, we decided it had been a hoax. Just like I'm hoping it is this time."

Isa snorted inside her mind. _I think he's in denial. Hasn't someone or something been hurt already?_

"Mmhmm," I breathed out in vampire pitch. "Let's leave him to it. And pray that he's right."

Isa and I stood, preparing to leave. "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore. We'll keep you updated if anything happens."

"Thank you." I could tell that he didn't believe what he had told us. He so badly wanted to, and his mind confirmed that when it opened up as we left. But it was the thought about a death that caught my attention as we left his office.

I waited until Isa and I were well away from his office, and away from where anyone else would overhear us, before I pulled her into an empty classroom.

She looked to my face when she stumbled in the door. "What is it, Teddy?"

"Sorry about that, first. I shouldn't have yanked you so hard." Isa shook her head, accepting my apology. "Second, someone wasn't hurt last time. They were killed."

"What?" Isa sank down onto the floor. "Why would he cover that up?"

"Because he was right. They had no proof either way. The chamber may have been 'opened,' but they couldn't confirm if it was the elusive monster or if someone else had done it. He didn't even think of who it was."

"Wow. What do we do with that?"

I thought about it for a minute. I wanted to give her an honest answer. "I think we continue doing what we've been doing. Research and follow any leads that come our way. We'll eventually learn the details as we go. Secrets have a way of getting out."

"And we pray that we can solve it all before someone else is hurt or killed."

~*~UHS~*~

All the students had been surprised by the new contraption that had been added to the potions classroom when they'd attended their first lesson of the year. And that hadn't only been our class; it was in classes across all years. Dumbledore had followed through on his promise to make the grading of our potions more fair. Snape was watched very closely, and the contraption graded our potions.

Snape however, wasn't happy. He didn't like being dictated to—funny considering he once, or maybe still, followed Lord Voldemort—and didn't want it happening in his classroom. But he knew he was lucky to have his job at all, still, so he went along with it. Snape stood in front of us during our first class and explained in that monotone voice of his exactly what it was. Any child who had clapped or shown any type of emotion about it had been given detention, something he was enjoying. Although, after a while, those detentions had been overturned. It was funny that he was being trained by Pokey to not use his knee jerk reactions. He had given some serious thought to giving me detention, but one look at Pokey and he'd changed his mind.

Probably smart on his part.

Pokey had been a fantastic addition to our little group. He kept a very quiet eye on Snape and reported anything he found untoward. So far that hadn't been much, but when we walked into class the day after finding out someone had died on the grounds, Pokey was waiting. He didn't give an outward sign that something had happened, but his thoughts were running a mile a minute. He'd been informed of my talent, and as such, he calmed the minute he saw me.

 _Pokey is so happy to see you, sir. Pokey has news._

I nodded to let him know I'd heard him even while I continued to my table. Isa took her usual spot next to me, Harry and Hermione in front, with Neville still sharing a table with Ron. But that was only because there was no one else and they'd been decided before we'd wiped his memory.

 _Sir, Pokey witnessed Professor Snape receive a letter today. It was delivered by the Malfoy's strange-looking owl. Do you want Pokey to try to find it?_

This time I shook my head. "Not right now, Pokey," I whispered. "I'll have a listen during our lesson."

 _Everything okay?_ Isa thought.

"Yup, just some news."

She nodded and went back to setting up. I'd already done so but was looking through the simple potions we were learning this year. While they were really good and did the job they were designed to do, I wondered if there were improvements that could be made considering some had not been changed since their conception. I looked at the potion we were about to start and pictured how it would come together in my mind. Although, what I saw were other ingredients I could use or add to make it stronger.

The potion we were working on wouldn't be finished in today's lesson. It was one that would take a few days to complete, but I was looking forward to the final product and what our tester would say.

It was about halfway through the lesson that I picked up on Snape's thoughts about the letter. It seemed that Malfoy was reaching out to former death eaters, wanting proof that they still followed their Master. It certainly had the earmarks of someone who was cautiously optimistic that he was coming back. While it wasn't worthy of Pokey's excitement, it was good intel.

A short while later, it was Draco who caught my attention.

 _Edward, can you hear me?_

I nodded because I knew he was looking at me.

 _Okay, good. I have an answer to your enquiry. As much as my father would love to say we have that_ great family history, _no, we are not related to Salazar Slytherin._ I breathed out a sigh of relief at that information. _I do, however, have some bad news. There may be some claim to Weasley's rumor. One of the older students in Slytherin has been doing some digging into the family history of Salazar. There was a Newtonian in the tree._ Damn, that wasn't good news. _Do you want me to see if I can get his research from him?_

I thought about it for a minute, wondering if any of it could help us. In the end, I decided that any information would be a great thing to have. Again, I nodded.

 _I'll do my best. Thank you for coming to me about this; it shows that we can trust each other._

I turned to look him in the eyes before I nodded just once, agreeing with him. Draco and his mother used a lot of courage to come and tell us what they had and to go back to a person who was abusing them. I was glad Isa and I were showing them the same amount of trust.

That was what we were aiming for.

~*~UHS~*~

The castle was alive with excitement. We had finally made it to the first Gryffindor Quidditch match of the season. Unfortunately, it was against Slytherin.

It was going to be a cold and dreary day, but everyone was all wrapped up and ready to cheer on their favorite team. We walked down to the stadium in a sea of maroon and gold or green and silver, all hyped up and raring for a great match. Regardless of the Slytherins less than honorable means of winning, the matches between the two were always fantastic.

What I loved was that this was the first match my entire family was able to see. Because Jasper, Emmett, and Esme were all working at the school, their significant others were able to come to watch.

 _I don't think I've ever seen Emmett more excited,_ Isa giggled from her spot next to me while looking over to the teachers' boxes.

I laughed. "No, me either. And that's saying something considering how long I've known him."

We continued to wait for the teams to come out, chatting and laughing. It was the first time in a long while that we were able to let go and stop worrying about everything.

"Here they come!" someone in our section shouted. A glimpse of red became visible in the mouth of the tunnel, and three-quarters of the public burst out in cheers, stamping their feet and clapping their hands. The waterfall of noise drowned out the efforts of the students in green and silver when Draco and the rest of the Slytherin team entered the pitch. Luna's hat roared one last time when Madame Hooch raised her hand to quiet everyone to start the game.

 _You know what's funny?"_

"What?"

 _The head of Slytherin House isn't here to watch his team get beaten by the best._

My head whipped around to the teacher's box to see that Isa was right. Snape was missing from the box, and that was an interesting development. I ranged out my gift but couldn't pick him out of all the noise. I listened to what was going on around us. It wasn't until things settled down a little that I heard Pokey calling out to me as he followed Snape into the stands.

 _Sir Edward! Pokey caught this no good, cheating, lying teacher trying to put something in your cauldron! He was trying to make sure you failed … Pokey taught him a lesson but Pokey will also talk to Dumbledore._

I let loose a growl at the fact that Snape, once again, tried to sabotage me. He didn't know who he was dealing with or what being a vampire entailed. For someone who was so versed in the dark arts, you'd think he'd be a little more careful about pissing off a vampire. Maybe that was the problem; he'd never actually learned not to push one, _so maybe I should teach him_. If it wasn't for the fact that he was a professor, and Dumbledore would probably frown on it, I would.

My growl had caught Isa's attention; thank goodness it was too loud in the stadium for the others to hear me, and she looked up at me. "What's wrong, Teddy?"

"Nothing," I growled, holding up my hand when I could see her about to protest. "Nothing that we can do anything about now. Let's enjoy the match, and I'll tell you about it later."

Isa pointed at me. "You'd better. I won't forget."

I leaned down to give her a kiss on the forehead. "I know you won't."

Madam Hooch blew her whistle and kicked the box of balls open; the snitch flew away in the direction of the Slytherin hoops. The quaffle shot straight up with Alicia and Goyle diving after it. Alicia's reactions were faster, so she won the quaffle and streaked away toward the Slytherin side, only to be intercepted by a bludger that had been pelted at her by Crabbe. She dropped the quaffle only to have it snatched up by a Slytherin chaser before they sped down the pitch toward the Gryffindor goals.

It seemed this match was going to be a lot harder than Oliver thought it would. I'm not sure any amount of practice was going to beat the Slytherin team's tactics.

Well that and the fact the Slytherins were on vastly superior brooms.

A look up told me that both seekers were staring at each other while also trying to keep an eye out for the golden snitch. I looked around the stadium when there was a roar from the Slytherin side because they were pulling away. The score currently was sitting at thirty–zero, Slytherin's way. Those brooms were going to be a thorn in our side. Oliver Wood was going to have to play smarter not faster because there was no way we were going to outrun them.

Throughout the entire beginning of the match, Colin had been taking photos. The problem with that was occasionally the flash would temporarily blind the Gryffindor players. The one time he did it to George, George went to aim a bludger in his direction. Instead of getting the penalty, I reached over to lower Colin's camera.

"Maybe put that away for now, little buddy. We do want to win, don't we?"

Colin looked up at me in awe and just nodded his head while he put the camera away.

I smirked. "Good man; enjoy the rest of the match."

I turned back to the front when Hermione screamed. "Oh my God!" She pointed up in the sky. "What's going on with Mike? Has he seen the snitch?"

Isa and I snapped our heads up and started searching for Mike, only to find him flying as fast as his broom could carry him from one end of the pitch to the other.

"I don't think he's seen the snitch. That's concentration and being annoyed, not excitement." Isa observed. We were trying to find what was going on when we noticed Fred and George barreling toward Mike. It seemed they were chasing a bludger, which was strange because usually they were following the chasers and beating the bludgers as they came toward them. "Is that bludger heading for Mike?"

The crowd around us was stunned silent as we watched Fred beat the bludger away from Mike only for him to move and have it come straight back at him. This time it was George who got in the way and hit it again, only for it to fly a few hundred feet and swing back again. I used my extra hearing to find out what was going on while we continued to watch the very strange dance happening above us. "It is. It's been chasing him for quite some time. Fred and George have only just picked up on it and are protecting him from it."

Our little group was watching with rapt attention. "But it's a disadvantage," Neville pointed out just as Lee Jordan called out a score of sixty-zero lead for the Slytherin team.

It seemed that Slytherin were using our distraction to their advantage. As any good team would, their beaters would hit the other bludger toward either Alicia, Angelina, or Katie, causing them to drop the quaffle. Graham, Adrian, or Callan would catch the falling quaffle and race down the pitch to score a goal around Oliver in the keeper position.

Mike was finally able to take a small breather while Fred and George continuously chased around the bludger.

"What is going on with that bludger?" Neville asked.

It was the gruff voice of Hagrid standing behind us that answered the question I was trying to find the answer to. "That bludger's been tampered wit', it has! It has a hex on it."

We all gasped at that implication. "So someone is deliberately trying to hurt Mike?" Isa asked. "And what is Malfoy saying to him?" That last one was more for the benefit of everyone else because we could hear him.

I looked up again, not realizing that I had looked away, only to hear Draco talking to Mike. "Practicing for the ballet, Newtonian?"

There was another roar from the Slytherin stands because they'd increased their lead by another ten points before I could answer. I looked at Isa when she tugged on my hand. "Yes, it seems someone is trying to hurt him, and Draco was just being his ever-charming self."

"What can we do? By the time Mike catches the snitch they might be too far ahead for it to make any difference." Hermione groaned and closed her eyes when Slytherin scored another ten points. They shot back open when Madam Hooch blew her whistle and called a time out for Gryffindor. "What's going on, Edward?"

"Oliver is reprimanding the twins for not helping the others on the pitch." We all groaned as the bludger took another shot at Mike while they were just standing there; nobody was doing anything, including any of the teachers. I was surprised. "Fred and George are arguing about the need to protect their seeker, but Mike is telling them to back off." Again, the bludger swung back around and headed for Mike's head; the whole team ducked as it flew above them and then again as it tried once more.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle to let them know the time out was now finished. I explained to the others around us that Mike had won the argument and the twins had to defend the rest of the players.

"What is Mike going to do?" Hermione asked as they flew back into the air on their brooms.

We watched as Mike just continued to move around the pitch, keeping one eye out for the snitch and the other on the bludger that kept coming for him.

"He's going to do that." I pointed to him.

With the twins now focused on helping the rest of our team, they were able to get the quaffle dropped into Alicia's hands. She sped off down the pitch toward our goals doing some complicated moves with Angela and Katie. And when Katie scored our first goal, the entire left side of the stadium went wild! There was yelling, cheering, and even a wave thrown in there. I laughed while I joined in; it was one of the most fun things I had done in a while!

It was during our celebration for our second goal that Mike seemed to take off fast with a purpose. He hooked his feet into the stirrups, grabbed the handle, and leaned forward so low on his broom that he was almost flat on it. Mike's face was set in concentration as he barreled toward Malfoy; the look on Draco's face was comical. Mike shot past Draco with such velocity that he was spun around on his broom before Mike dropped straight into a dive.

Draco was unable to get his bearings before the bludger collided with the end of his broom, smashing it, and knocking him to the ground. The uproar from the Slytherin side was comical, to say the least.

Everyone in our section held their breaths as Mike dove straight toward the pitch. Isa and I could see the snitch hovering there, just above the ground. In fact, it seemed to be waiting there for him to just reach out and grab it. He stayed in his dive until the last possible moment, grabbing the snitch as he leveled out, holding his hand high in the air. He landed on the pitch, still holding it above his head in celebration.

The Gryffindor house went wild, cheering, screaming, and yelling.

"MIKE, LOOK OUT!" Isa screamed from next to me.

None of the Gryffindor team could hear her because they were all congratulating Mike on catching the snitch, but everyone around us did. The bludger that had been pestering Mike all match was coming toward him at an alarming speed, aiming straight at the arm that held the snitch. We went from celebrating to all yelling for Mike to turn around; unfortunately, he heard us too late, and when he did turn, the bludger hit his arm with a sickening snap.

"We've gotta go." Hermione pushed past us, making her way down to the pitch while our group of friends followed. We watched in increasing horror as the bludger swung back around for another go. Fred and George readied their bats to defend Mike, who was rolling around on the ground in, no doubt, huge amounts of pain. Fred got in one big hit before Hermione made it out to the pitch.

Isa and I watched in confusion when she pulled out her wand, waved it at the bludger, and called out, " _Finite Incantatem._ " A bright light shot out of the end of her wand, hitting the bludger when it swung around again, making it explode into a million brightly lit little shards. When Hermione was done, she fell at Mike's side with the surrounding Gryffindor team. "Mike, are you okay?"

Isa looked up at me with an eyebrow raised up high. It certainly was interesting.

Before Mike could answer, we were interrupted by the one voice none of us wanted to hear. "He will be. Let me through; let me through," Lockhart called.

We all groaned because we knew he would try to help, and we didn't want him to.

"No, not him," Mike whispered.

"Poor boy, you're in so much pain you don't know what you're saying," Lockhart cooed condescendingly. He lifted Mike's arm, and we could all see the odd angle it was sticking out. "Don't worry; we'll fix it right up."

"Noooo," Mike mumbled just as Lockhart pointed his wand at his arm and stated, "Brackiem Emendo."

Unfortunately for poor Mike, just as Lockhart said his spell out loud, he actually thought Ossio Dispersimus, which changed the whole outcome of it.

"What did you do?" Mike, well, he kind of squeaked.

"Well, ah … you're not in pain anymore," Lockhart mumbled as he bent Mike's forearm completely in half, causing all the spectators to groan in sympathy. Well, Isa's and mine were in disgust.

"How can he be in pain when he has no bones left?" Hagrid grouched. Instead of waiting for an answer, he swept down and picked Mike up from the ground. "C'mon, Mike, let's get yeh to the 'ospital wing where Madam Pomfrey will fix yeh right up."

The entire Gryffindor team scowled at Lockhart as they got up off the ground before following Hagrid out of the pitch. Isa and I made to follow when we heard Lockhart open his mouth once more. "Was it something I did?"

 _Something he did; something he did!_ Isa grumbled in her thoughts as we followed the others. _If he wasn't such an incompetent nincompoop then Mike would be fine! His arm would be in one piece and not missing his bones._

I snickered at her grumbling, although she was completely right. He really was incompetent, and it made me wonder, once again, how he got to be as famous for these tales as he was. Something just wasn't adding up.

The last thing to happen as we walked away was Colin, once again, taking his pictures. We needed to teach this kid some boundaries; he reminded me of the paparazzi in the muggle world.

~*~UHS~*~

Later that night, I was in the Room of Requirement checking on my potion and reading up some more on creating potions. With books provided from both the room and Charlie's potions book. He really was a brilliant alchemist. There were ingredients that some wizards were too scared to combine but he did. The results were amazing. It certainly got me thinking; I couldn't wait to create some of my own. The one I was leaning toward at that point, though, was to find a way to make becoming an Animagus easier. Isa's suggestion lingered in the back of my mind, mostly because I wasn't sure that mandrake leaf was going to be strong enough, on it's own, for Isa and me to make the change.

I was so deep into studying different ingredients that when I heard the sounds coming from the walls again, it surprised me. But I was out the door before the first sound had a chance to end. While using my natural speed, I kept close to the walls so as not to attract attention. Even though I was using my enhanced senses, I stopped at all the corners, peering around them because I had no idea what I would face if this _thing_ came out of the walls. I didn't know if it could hurt me, and I could never leave Isa by herself now. I knew it would kill me to be without her, like it would her with me.

When I got close enough, I slowed down and placed my ear against the wall, listening to the thoughts of whatever it was.

" _Kill … kill … blood … must feed. Must feed …"_

It still sounded vampirish to me in its thoughts, but the sounds that it was making seemed decidedly animal. I crept along the walls with my ear plastered to it, using my hands to guide me. I was approaching a corner when the sounds and the voice reached a crescendo. I heard a hiss then a snap before all went quiet; everything just stopped.

I froze. Everything in me shut down because I wasn't sure I wanted to peer around the corner to see what had happened, why the voice and the noises had disappeared.

I looked around, only to realize I was in the corridor nearest the kitchens. I couldn't believe I had tracked this thing so far. I took a deep breath, holding onto the wall for stability and for a sense of something real. Because, sometimes, this thing didn't feel real. I suppose that's what Dumbledore was trying to convince himself of.

It seemed that while I had been trying to psyche myself into peering around the corner, Dumbledore and some other teachers had arrived on the scene. So instead of having to peer around the corner, I utilized my talent and peered into their heads instead, considering they were being very quiet.

What surprised me though, besides the end of the sounds, was that the teachers had found another petrified victim. This time, it was a student. Yet, they were still trying to deny the fact that this wasn't a hoax. It baffled me that they wouldn't even entertain the idea that whatever was in the chamber could be causing it. Well, that was what they were thinking at first.

I followed them through the halls while I listened to their thoughts, but I was interrupted by the goings on in the hospital. Dobby had deemed it a good time to show himself again to Mike.

It surprised me that he knew Mike was Harry; it seemed he could see through the effect the Polyjuice potion had on him. I listened in as Dobby explained that he was the one who had closed the barrier at King Cross Station, preventing them getting through, and he had jinxed the bludger. What I found fascinating was what I heard from Dobby himself.

He worked for the Malfoys, and he knew that Lucius was the one to help open the Chamber of Secrets. In fact, Dobby knew it was with a book, in which, Lucius had helped do just that.

Now I had something to look for.

The minute Mike started pressing for answers Dobby disappeared. By that stage, the professors carrying the body of the student, which I had identified as Colin Creevy, had reached the hospital wing. They placed him on a bed far away from Mike before surrounding Colin with screens.

It was McGonagall who spoke first. "Do you think he managed to capture a picture of his attacker?"

"Let's see," Dumbledore murmured as he pulled the camera from Colin's hands. I watched through his eyes as he turned the camera over and opened the back, only to have the film disintegrate in a puff of smoke.

"What does this mean, Albus?" McGonagall whispered.

Dumbledore sighed. "It means we have to face facts. The Chamber of Secrets has indeed been opened."

"What do we do?"

"What we do best. We'll protect the students, give them the information they need, including letting them know that the Chamber of Secrets has indeed been opened."

 _About time they owned up to it._ I thought as I made my way back to the Room of Requirement. _I wonder if this could have been avoided if they didn't bury their heads in the sand._

~*~UHS~*~

The following morning, Professor McGonagall came to Gryffindor tower early, before breakfast, to fill everyone in on the new rules regarding traveling between classes. Of course, those in our group wouldn't need the protection but would have to follow the rules to not show what we knew.

Since our group was dressed, we stayed in the common room while the others went off to do just that.

"What happened, Edward?" Fred whispered.

We were sequestered in my corner, Mike included, with McGonagall across the other side of the room by the fireplace. She was lost in thought so she wasn't paying any attention to us.

"I was in the Room of Requirement last night when I heard the noises start up again …" I led them through everything I heard and witnessed last night, including what Dobby had been thinking.

"So it's entirely possible that Malfoy is behind this," George growled.

Isa wore a pained look on her face; she wished we could deny that it was Draco—that was who George was referring too—but we couldn't without giving away what we knew. Although, they were right in one respect; there was a Malfoy involved in opening the chamber.

Just not the one they thought.

We stopped talking when the others started trickling down the stairs, and McGonagall turned around. "All right, students, let's get down to breakfast."

McGonagall led the way to the portrait before letting us all file out in front of her; she was hyper-vigilant, making sure nothing was going to happen to us on her watch. Although, she was less concerned than some of the other teachers because she had Isa and I among her group. McGonagall knew we would do all we could to protect our fellow housemates.

We sat down at our table when we reached the Great Hall, which was where Hermione broke the silence that had fallen over us.

"Edward, can you tell what's going on with Ginny? She seems worse than ever, and she's not talking to anyone."

Jasper had heard her question and zeroed in on her feelings as I did with her thoughts. I couldn't detect much; she seemed to be in a daze. There wasn't a whole lot of thinking going on; it was like she was acting on instinct. Hermione was right, though; over the course of the time we'd been here, she'd withdrawn from everyone. I looked up at Jasper to see what he thought.

 _I don't know. She's covered in a cloud of what seems to be depression, but there's more to it than that. There's an undercurrent of something. Anticipation? Fear? It's all jumbled. Give me some time to assess it then get back to you._

I nodded in response to his thoughts before I turned back to Hermione and Isa. "There's something going on, but she's not actively thinking on it, or much at all. Jasper said her emotions are all muddled. He's going to take some time to sort through them, then get back to me."

Isa looked over at Ginny; she was sad and worried. "I think we should spend some time with her today, Hermione. Starting right now."

"Yup." Both girls got up and walked along the table to sit with Ginny, who was off by herself. They surprised her out of her stupor, which cleared up her thoughts and emotions. Jasper and I spent breakfast assessing her, and what we discovered really concerned us.

She was depressed and scared. But I couldn't access what it was she was afraid of. The _he_ was still there in her thoughts, but she never thought his name. What I did find interesting was that even though there was this _he_ , she had the beginnings of a small crush on Draco. She'd blush every time her eyes traveled in his direction. I smirked because I wasn't the only one who picked up on it, but Isa's thoughts were more along the lines of how it seemed that the girls around her grew up much faster than the boys did.

"It happens everywhere, sweet girl. Boys _always_ take longer to grow up than the girls." I snickered.

 _Shut up, Teddy!_ She laughed in her thoughts. _Do you have to listen to everything?_

I chuckled at her mock indignation. "Always, Isa. Always."

~*~UHS~*~

I was looking forward to the potions lesson we were heading to; it was time to have the tester mark the potions we had been making before the Quidditch match. This particular potion had been made over several lessons, and thanks to the shield spell I had been working on, I was able to keep Snape from sabotaging me.

It had taken a few nights work, lots of patience, and more frustration than I liked to admit, but I finally mastered the spell. Charlie's books were heaven for someone looking to adapt a spell or potion, and between his work and what I was able to merge with it, I had come up with a spell called _Pretego Cutem_ or _Cauldron Lock_. I was able to find a wand movement that combined two different spells, then used that with another movement to make the spell work.

Once I'd managed to get it to work, I made sure to show at least Isa. Because I knew that if Snape wanted to punish me, he'd start to pick on her. Although, if he did, he'd really meet the wrath of a vampire, and nothing, not even Dumbledore, would be able to hold me back.

 _What do you think is going to happen today?_ Isa asked as we made our way down the final set of stairs to the dungeon.

I snickered, a particularly evil sound. "I think Snape's going to be very unhappy with me, yet again. I didn't exactly follow the potion as laid out in the book."

 _Oh?_ Isa stared up at me wide eyed. _What did you do?_

"I may have … ah … tweaked it a little. Made it stronger, better. It may even last longer."

Isa face palmed. _Are you trying to piss him off?_

I laughed; again, it was slightly evil. "No, not at all. I'm trying to become a better wizard, and part of that is experimentation."

 _But now? We're in school! I understand the need for the Cauldron Lock because he keeps trying to sabotage you, but why the experimenting?_

"Because it's something I'm interested in. And why not now? Thanks to Dumbledore, Charlie, and the books at school, we have a lot of resources that can help in our pursuit to become better potion masters. If we start now, who's to say what we can do?"

Isa snorted. _As long as you use your talents for good and not evil._ She looked up at me apologetically. _Sorry, Teddy. You know what I mean._

I leaned down and kissed her head as I opened the door to Snape's classroom. "I know what you meant, sweet girl, and I didn't take offense to it."

"When you're ready, Mr. Masen. We'd like to start class." Snape sneered at us because we were the last in through the door. "After all, we have some testing to get done today." He smirked.

I smirked back at Professor Snape when I read his thoughts. He was so positive he had caused me to fail, that he could make a complete fool of me in front of everyone. Snape was confused by my smirk but watched with narrowed eyes while I made my way to my cauldron.

"Everyone, remove your potions from your cauldrons and line up in a sensible manner to the left of the tester," Snape ordered before turning back to his desk to get his record book.

I took the opportunity to look over my station. I could tell someone had tried to put something in it. I loved the way the spell worked by placing a protective shield over the top of the cauldron. But it wasn't just that; it didn't just seal off the potion from everything outside, it allowed the potion to bubble, brew, and release the heat and steam while protecting everything inside. The best part, though, was the fact that if anyone attempted to sabotage the potion, the liquid inside would appear to absorb the ingredients added but store them in a magical pouch that didn't disintegrate and destroy the potion.

I waited until everyone was distracted by removing their potions from their cauldrons before I used the retrieval spell to collect the pouch, which I slipped into my pocket and disbanded the shield. I'd have a look at that in a little while.

"What's taking you so long, Masen? Isn't your potion ready?" Snape smirked from his position next to the tester.

"Oh, it's ready, sir. I was just admiring my handiwork," I replied with my own smirk while I ladled some into a bottle for testing.

Due to the fact that I had taken longer to gather my potion, I was the last one in line. Isa gave me a small smile as I walked past. I gave her a big cheesy one just to hear her beautiful laugh, even if it was only in my head. We waded through the first few children, getting mostly passing grades before we reached the first in our little group. It was no surprise that Hermione was up first; she had no qualms about doing her schoolwork, and I admired that about her.

We watched in silence as she placed the bottle in the bottom of the tester, and it lifted it to the top. The liquid made its way through the many different layers before being captured again in the bottom, just like the testing at the end of last year. The refilled bottles were sealed by the FIPRA with a color-coded ribbon that represented the grade the potion was worth. Besides that, the machine would give a verbal assessment of the potion with tips for the brewer.

I had the distinct impression that this FIPRA was going to be much more businesslike than the one we had observed in Dumbledore's office last year.

I looked at Hermione, and it seemed she was holding her breath, waiting for the outcome.

" _A valiant effort; that comes real close. A little flair will strengthen this potion. Exceeds Expectations."_

 _Thank goodness,_ Hermione thought as she let out a rather relieved sigh. She grabbed her potion from the tester before she walked over and put it in the box Snape had set up. Hermione beamed a smile at Isa before she sat down at her cauldron.

Something struck me as odd with this tester, and I couldn't figure it out. It took me a minute, but eventually, I realized what the difference was; there was no festive ribbons spewed out with the spoken advice given.

That was a shame. I was sure the rest of the class would have loved that.

We made it through a couple more before Ron was due for his turn. We were all interested in seeing how he was doing. Through some of our other lessons, we knew he was struggling to maintain his grades now that he didn't have us pushing him. Dean and Seamus, while his friends, weren't exactly enthusiastic when it came to studying.

His potion made it sluggishly through the tester. Even at this distance, I could see that it wasn't the correct consistency. He hadn't gotten it right, but I was hoping it wasn't as bad as I thought it was.

" _This person needs to concentrate and learn to count. Some uncoordinated stirring will never a potion make. Poor."_

It seemed that Ron was surprised by this answer, although I didn't know why. Because instead of getting his potion from the tester, he stormed out of the dungeon, slamming the door behind him. I hoped for his sake this would be a wake-up call for him, something that would make him start to take his schooling more seriously. I doubted it though.

Isa had her turn not long after Ron. She was only mildly worried about her potion. She knew the consistency was good, and it was the correct color, but she knew she hadn't put much more into it than that. I watched with trepidation as she placed her potion into the tester. Isa stood off to the side, biting her lip anxiously as she watched it filter down through the many layers before landing in the bottle at the bottom and being sealed with a ribbon.

" _A perfect execution of the recipe but, as of yet, without a personal touch. Outstanding."_

Isa beamed that happy smile toward Professor Snape, who had thought of something derogatory to say, but with one look at me, he decided to keep his mouth shut.

 _Smart man. First time for everything._ I snorted before smiling back at Isa when she turned to me.

 _Don't worry, Teddy. I know you'll do great!_ she thought while she made her way back to our table to clean our cauldrons and pack up our book bags.

"Thank you, beautiful girl," I whispered in return.

Both Neville and Mike were in the last group to be tested before me, and their grades, while passes, probably could have been better. They knew that, and I could tell they would work on potions more.

While I waited for the last few of my classmates to have their potions tested, I pulled the pouch from my pocket. The spell had worked like a treat, but what I discovered when I looked over the pouch was that the spell had gone one step further.

I had proof of someone trying to sabotage my potion in the shape of letters forming a name, right there on the gelatin-like pouch.

 _Professor Severus Snape._

 _Huh._ I smirked again. _I had him dead to rights, again. Wonder what Dumbledore would say this time?_

When it was my turn, I made my way up to the tester with a little swagger in my step. I knew without a shadow of a doubt he hadn't tampered with it. The Girding Potion was one that helped beef up one's endurance, making them stronger, better, faster for a period of time.

When I had thought about what potions we would be making in class, I started researching the ingredients. Especially for this potion. I'd been looking through all the stores that Charlie had put away in my trunk when I came across some fossilized Meganeura Thoraxes or Mega Dragonfly Thoraxes. I knew the potion called for dragonfly thoraxes, but when I discovered these, I started doing some reading and discovered that the mega ones could be used in place of the normal ones if I powdered them. Making the potion stronger and more long lasting than the original.

Of course, we'd have to use it sparingly as fossilized mega ones would eventually run out if we used them all the time.

I wanted to see what the tester would have to say to my changes, and see Snape's reaction to it. He tried to hide his smirk as I placed my potion in the tester, his thoughts lauding triumph for his perceived victory against me. It wouldn't stay there for long.

I watched with unbridled glee as the potion hit the bottom and was sealed with a ribbon that was a different color than everyone else's in the classroom. I peeked a look at Snape before the commentary was given to see that he looked like he would have had steam coming out of his ears if it was possible.

" _A brilliant move to substitute the dragonfly thorax with its powdered fossilized giant counterpart. This potion is much stronger, and this shows the mark of a great brewer. Exceeds Outstanding."_

I turned to see what Professor Snape would do, but he just stood there glaring at me until his actions caught the attention of the students.

"Class dismissed," he all but growled as he stormed out of the same door that Ron ran through not long ago. _How was that possible? It should not have been possible a second time!_

I smiled at Isa when I walked over to pick up my bag and hers. "Well, that was certainly entertaining."

She giggled a little. "Why, yes, yes it was." Then she frowned a little. "Please be careful. I don't want you to annoy him too much."

"I'm only defending my right to an education without interference. But in saying that, I had better go show this to Dumbledore." I produced the pouch.

"Okay. Hermione and I are going to take another run at Ginny. I hope we have better results this time."

I leaned over and kissed her on the head. "Good luck. I want to hear all about it later."

Isa beamed, linked arms with Hermione, and then they were off to locate their friend to try to help her.

I knew she was right; I had to be more careful. After my talk with Professor Dumbledore, I should go find Fred and George; it was high time I got with them and thought of a suitable punishment for our dear old potions professor. One that just might teach him a very valuable lesson about pissing off a vampire, without actually leading it back to me.

~*~UHS~*~

George smirked at me when I finished explaining what I wanted to do. "Have we got what you want, mate."

"It's so good to see your mischievous side coming out," Fred exclaimed. "You were starting to look and sound like the den father. Surely after your hundred plus years, you should have some good ones up there."

I chuckled. "Of course, I do, but they're all catered to the muggle world. As I learn more, I'll be able to adjust them to the wizarding world. Not only that; until we stepped into this world, I had to keep a low profile because of what I am."

They both nodded in unison. It was amazing how often those two thought in sync with each other. I'd read plenty of twins in my many years on earth, but none of them were as in tune with each other as Fred and George.

"Too true, mate. Bloody muggles don't know what they're missing out on. But in regard to your idea, we have what you need. For now, though, let us handle it; we want to get a bit of revenge on the grumpy professor too." George again nodded, agreeing with his brother.

I was about to disagree with them because I didn't want them getting into trouble if they got caught, but I was distracted by Hermione and Isa when they sat down with a huff next to me.

"What's wrong, girls? Any luck with Ginny."

They both shook their heads and sighed out a "no."

"What's wrong with Ginny?" Fred and George blurted out in a panic before looking around for her.

"How have you not noticed?" Isa asked angrily while she crossed her arms over her chest. "During the time we've been here, she's become moody and withdrawn. She seems depressed, and most of all, she's not talking to anyone!"

"Oh." They both slumped.

"So, no luck then?"

Isa and Hermione shook their heads before slumping in their seats. They were both worried and unsure what to do.

"I think you girls are doing the best you can. Keep talking to her, involving her, and we'll hope for the best. Now that Fred and George know, they can help too. We'll pull her out of it, and Jasper and I can keep an eye on her, okay?"

Isa looked up at me, confused. "Is that another of those metaphors, Teddy? Like the ear thing?"

I chuckled, remembering that conversation. "It is. It just means that we'll watch out for her even when she doesn't seem to be doing it herself."

I could see an idea spark in the twins minds when I mentioned the metaphor. There was also another one pop up in regard to the earlier one, about keeping an ear on it. They were interesting, and if those were something the twins wanted to pursue further, I'd want to be in on it.

 _Interesting indeed_.

~*~UHS~*~

After that fateful lesson, Snape backed off a little; well, as much as he deemed possible. Although it did help that the twins started their little plan. It seemed that when Dumbledore hired his teachers, he had a spell placed on their wands. Each of their wands had a tracking spell, one that would tell him if they were doing something, somewhere, they weren't supposed to.

From what I had read from Dumbledore, he was worried that he originally hadn't gotten all of Snape's in the beginning. This was because the sleeve that Snape kept them in had several empty slots. The fact that Snape had shown him, besides his main wand, a sleeve that had half a dozen, with as many empty slots, was a concern. He could have as many as thirteen in total, and we should all know that the number thirteen is synonymous with the work of dark forces.

Dumbledore was a genius, though, because the tracking spell he placed on the wands in that sleeve was contagious. If Snape had other wands in that sleeve, they would have "caught" the spell when they were put back.

I tell you … genius.

And it seemed the twins had managed to grab one of Snape's wands. It was certainly making for some entertaining problems for the potion's professor.

For example, just the other day, Dumbledore confronted him about being out in the Forbidden Forest when he should have been in class teaching the sixth years. The funny part was all of his other wands would have shown him to be in that very class. He'd also been accused of doing all sorts of mischievous spells, anything the twins could think of to cause him trouble.

It made me wonder if Dumbledore was aware of what we were up to. I snorted to myself; Snape didn't seem to.

The week had been full of surprises and not only for Snape. Like when we walked past a sign posted outside Lockhart's classroom on the way to the library. There was a large group of people whispering, pointing, and even signing something that was there.

"Hey, Edward, Bella! Did you see?" Hermione asked with excitement.

Isa shook her head while I answered verbally. "No, we haven't been paying any attention to Lockhart. What's going on?"

"The teachers are allowing us to have a dueling club! They're going to teach us how to duel properly!"

"What? No way?" Isa squealed before standing on her tippy toes to see.

I was watching Hermione's face carefully. I could see it change ever so slightly when she saw how excited Isa was. "What's wrong, Hermione?"

Isa dropped back down and scrutinized her friend closely.

Hermione drew a deep breath. "Lockhart is the one running it."

"What? Noooooooo!" Isa whined, throwing in a foot stomp and crossing her arms. "That's not fair. He won't want us participating."

I smirked, both at her behavior and the thoughts running through my mind. "Maybe Snape isn't the only one who needs a lesson in not messing with a vampire," I murmured. "Maybe, just maybe, he needs to learn not to mess with a Veela too."

Isa looked up at me and smiled. It was a smile I hadn't seen on her before. It was beautiful in its evilness, and I could tell she was in agreement. She nodded. "Maybe you're right after all; he can't deny us the right to learn how to defend ourselves."

"So, we sign up?"

"We sign up."

It seemed that while we had been discussing our intentions, the group around the sign had been observing us. Everyone in the school had been told or seen the fact that Lockhart not only disliked us, but had been able to have us thrown out of his classroom. They were disturbed that a teacher, one who was supposedly able to do just about anything, would not teach two of their own. They thought he was a racist. Their definition was much more defined than the muggle use of the word. The students knew he was refusing us our education because of what we were, not who we were.

It was interesting that they saw the simplest definition of the word. In this world, it didn't matter what you looked like, who you were, or even what species you were. If you were magical, you deserved a magical education. The fact that Lockhart refused us because we were vampire and veela made him a racist.

If only muggles saw it that way.

Isa blushed when she realized they were watching us but held her head high when we walked to the sign-up sheet. It took just one person to start, but by the time we had reached the board, the group around us had started clapping. They were proud that we were standing up for our right to learn. It was as we turned around that I noticed the noise had drawn Professor Lockhart out of his classroom.

"Well, well. What have we got here? Think you're going to join, do you?" What Lockhart didn't realize was that with this and his previous stance against us, he was fast losing face with his _fans_.

"We do," I answered. "I think we have a right to learn how to behave properly in a duel. Don't you? Just like we have a right to learn how to defend ourselves against those who wish to harm us."

"Yes." Isa nodded. "And we have Professor Dumbledore to thank for picking up your slack."

The group around us all " _ooooooh_ ed" at Isa's comment. They were all eagerly awaiting what Lockhart would say.

"As a teacher, I have a right to teach the students I think will benefit from my teaching."

I snorted. "No, as a teacher, you are supposed to teach all those that come into your classroom, with no exceptions. Be it race, creed, or color. We are all here for a magical education, but you are discriminating against my mate and me due to _what we are_. You, sir, are a racist."

"I am no racist!" Lockhart bellowed, causing his voice to echo all around the corridor. "But mark my words; you will not be in the dueling club, either of you." With that, he whipped his flamboyant robes around as he spun and stormed back into the classroom, slamming the door behind him.

"I like that man less and less as the year goes by," a small first year stated once everything had gone quiet. "He's nothing like his books made him out to be."

 _I think that's a good thing. If people can see him for what he is, maybe he won't be able to influence them anymore with his books._

I smiled. "It is a very good thing, baby girl."

The crowd dispersed after that comment, conversations breaking out about Lockhart and his behavior.

I smiled. If we did nothing else this year than exposing that guy, I'd be a very happy camper.

~*~UHS~*~

The day of the dueling club arrived with a lot of fanfare. Everyone was excited, some because they were learning something new, some because they could legitimately use spells against their fellow classmates. And then there were those who had witnessed the _discussion_ outside Lockhart's classroom. They were most excited to see what would happen when we walked through the door.

I knew we'd be allowed to stay. Lockhart had gone to Dumbledore's office and had a rather loud argument, which had caught my attention. He was adamant that we would not be in the club, that we wouldn't desecrate the sacredness of it by dirtying it with our otherness. It seemed that Dumbledore had pre-empted the lengths to which Lockhart would go to keep us from our education and had gone to the Ministry. He'd spoken to the minister for education and gotten a letter stating that while Lockhart didn't have to accept us into the DADA class because Dumbledore was covering it, he couldn't exclude us from any further classes or school programs.

We were to be taught by the teacher who was supposed to be teaching us. I smirked while I watched through Dumbledore as Lockhart read the paper with steam almost coming out of his ears before he spun and stalked back out the door. He wasn't happy.

Isa was bouncing along beside me while we walked to the room the club was being held in. I was listening to Lockhart, and I could tell that he was still unhappy that he had to have us there. In fact, he was determined to ignore us as much as possible.

 _So we're going to stand where he can see us?_

I snickered. "Yup, and we're going to try to stay in his line of sight as much as possible. I want to just throw him off his game. I want to know what he's thinking, if he's hiding anything."

 _Isn't this just a little bit mean?_

I pulled Isa to a stop before we reached the corridor that lead to the classroom. I placed my hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes to convey my sincerity. "If you don't want to do this, Isa, we don't have to. Your safety and happiness is my paramount concern. I know there's something off about him, but I can do it by myself if you don't want to."

 _I just don't want to turn into my mother. I don't want to become a siren or a veela like her._

"Oh, baby," I sighed while I pulled her into my arms. "You'll never ever be like that. You have too much heart to ever be like that."

"How do you know?" She sniffled. "What if this is how it starts?"

"I think that if it was going to happen, it would have started by now. You wouldn't be here at Hogwarts getting this type of education, and we wouldn't have mated if you were going to be a siren like that. From everything I've read, those who mate, and mate for life, will never be like that because you know what happens if one of them loses the other."

"They lose the will to live. Does that mean my mummy wasn't Daddy's mate?"

I froze. It was a question I had wondered myself time and time again. I didn't want to lie to Isa, but I think she deserved some modicum of truth. "I think your mummy loved your daddy very much. I think she learned how to love so deeply that it was like she was mated to your daddy, and when she lost that, she lost herself. I think your mummy didn't know what to do or how to grieve when she lost a love so deep that it kept her anchored to the earth."

Isa nodded. _But they didn't mate. Not like us._

"No, sweet girl. Not like us." I kissed the top of her head before she pulled back and placed one on my cheek.

"Thank you for being honest. I appreciate that more than you can know." Then she let an evil little smirk cross her face that called to the vampire in me. "Now, let's go see what we can see."

"Let's." I stood and grabbed her hand.

We continued to the classroom, only to find that we were the last ones to make it. Every other student in our age group who was interested was already inside. I used my free hand to open the door, catching everyone's attention. When the students realized who it was, they all spun to see what Lockhart's reaction would be.

They all saw the sneer he tried to hide. In fact, that was now the third time this year he'd shown his distaste for us, and it was slowly causing his demise. Isa and I smirked as we made our way to stand in the back behind our friends.

 _Lockhart: 1, Edward and Isa: 2._

This was going to be an interesting lesson.

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **I can't wait to hear what you thing about this one.**

 **Thank you for reading and see you in a fortnight!**


	7. Chapter Six - Dueling Club

**Hi everyone! Welcome to your regularly scheduled posting! I can't believe we are up to chapter six already, and half way through this book. It completely blows my mind. The fact that you're all still here with me is what keeps me going, every single time. Thank you for that.**

 **Thanks go to Pienuniek for her constant support and random ideas. I wouldn't be here without her, so if you haven't checked out her work to say thank you, go and do that, please. And Sally Hopkinson, I have learnt so much from you, and I hope that it's starting to show, lol. Thank you for everything you do.**

 **Twilight and Harry Potter belong to Stephanie Meyer and JK Rowling, respectively. There's no copyright infringement intended.**

 **I'll let you get to it.**

* * *

 **Chapter Six – Dueling Club**

We stood in the back waiting for Lockhart to start. He didn't seem to be real enthusiastic about it, which I found to be terribly funny. But one look around at the children and he gained some of his momentum back.

Lockhart paced along the stage that had been set up in the center of the room. "Gather round, gather round! Can everybody hear me? Can everybody see me?" When everyone in the room stopped talking he continued. "Ah, excellent. In light of the dark events of recent weeks, Professor Dumbledore has seen fit to start this little dueling club. And of course, he has delegated the leading of it to me!

"I'm here to train you all up, in case you ever need to defend yourself from someone who wishes you harm. As I have myself on several occasions. For full details, see my published works." He oozed charm. I could hear Isa snort to herself as Lockhart undid his cape and threw it to a group of girls who were still swooning over him.

I snorted when I read the next words he was about to say from his head. Only mine was much louder and caught the attention of a few people around us, including our illustrious professor.

"I think you all know my dedicated assistant." Again, I snorted, much quieter this time. Because Snape was only here on direct order from Dumbledore, this was part of his further punishment for trying to sabotage me once more. "Professor Snape. He has volunteered to help. But don't worry"—Lockhart paused for dramatic effect and because Snape was making his way up onto the stage—"when I'm through with him, you'll still have your potions master."

"Oh goody," Mike mumbled under his breath, causing us to snicker.

"We're just going to give you a small demonstration as to what you can expect from these training sessions," Lockhart added with flair when the student's attention stayed on the imposing Professor Snape. "Never fear."

We watched with bated breath when they turned toward each other. They pulled their wands from their hiding places and moved to stand a few feet away from each other. They whipped their wands up, placing them vertically in front of their noses before dropping back to their sides. It seemed to be an intricate dance they were performing. What got me though, as they bowed and then spun away from each other, was that …

 _As if someone who is willing to hurt you is going to go through all of this,_ Isa thought.

I chuckled quietly. "I was just thinking that very thing," I murmured when she looked up at me, causing her to smile.

We turned back to the stage when Snape and Lockhart had walked their paces and spun back to face each other, each taking a different stance. Lockhart had bended knees with a hand on his hip and his wand out in front of him—similar to a fencing position. Snape was straight as a board with his wand arm bent up over his head while his other arm was positioned straight out in front of him with his fingers pointing at Lockhart.

"Who is going to do this out in the real world?" Neville whispered. "I can't see an evil wizard running from an auror, turning around, and saying 'let's have a duel. If I win, you let me go. If you win, I'll come quietly.'"

Our little group chuckled again, catching the attention of the professors, which caused them both to sneer at us. Well, more so Isa and I than the others.

"Are we interrupting you, Masen?" Snape spat when it seemed Lockhart wasn't going to say anything.

"No, sir. I'm completely riveted." I was being sarcastic, and he knew that, but it was also the truth, and there was nothing he could do about it. Especially when there was a pop as Pokey apparated into the room.

"Excellent! Shall we continue?" Lockhart asked, looking at Snape instead of us. When Snape nodded, they retook their positions. "Ready. One, two, three!"

Snape was faster, just adding to the reasons that I didn't think Lockhart had done what he gloated about. If he had beaten vampires, like he claims, he'd have to have been much faster than that.

"Expelliarmus!" Snape swung his hand in an arc down behind him before pointing it at Lockhart and expelling a bolt of golden-tinged white light. By the time it shot out of the end and hit Lockhart in the center of his chest, sending him flying backward, Lockhart hadn't even opened his mouth to say his spell.

There was a shocked gasp that went around the room before small groups of giggles broke out, including Isa and Hermione. Although, there were still a few who were infatuated with Lockhart who were concerned with his well-being. We watched in barely hidden amusement as Lockhart stiffly got back up to his feet and walked jauntily down the stage toward Snape.

"Great idea showing them that one, Professor Snape. But it was pretty obvious what you were going to do, if you don't mind me saying."

"Of course, you did," Snape muttered sarcastically under his breath. When it looked like Lockhart was going to ask what he said, Snape spoke before he could. "How about we let the students try some spells?"

"Good idea!" Lockhart exclaimed. "Pair up, everybody!"

 _I'm going to pair with Mike,_ Draco told me. _Nobody else will, and it will be better if he's not with someone from Gryffindor. And you won't be allowed to._ He smirked at me while I snickered.

"Guess we'll have to partner up, Teddy," Isa murmured while we watched as Draco picked Mike, but Snape stepped in before Neville and Hermione could pair up. He ordered them to be with, not only someone of the same gender but from his house. Hermione got Bulstrode, and Neville ended up with Goyle. Neville and Hermione shouldn't have any problems. "This isn't really going to be teaching us anything."

"I agree. Like you said before, if someone was really going to hurt us, they wouldn't stop to duel. But let's get to practicing."

We went about "dueling" for a while, having Snape and Lockhart walk around and helping those who had their stances wrong or were using something that could be potentially dangerous. Although, they both kept a wide berth of Isa and I. Things went well for a bit, that was until someone spouted off about Mike being the heir of Slytherin and that Draco should take him down before he could hurt anyone else.

Isa and I could see the reluctance on Draco's face; I could also hear it in his thoughts, but we knew he had a part to play. The rest of the class froze and spun toward the pair when Draco sneered at Mike and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "What? You think he's the heir of Slytherin? Why would he be in Gryffindor? Let's see what you can do, _heir_!

"Expelliarmus!" The spell shot out of the end of Draco's wand with a flash of white, hitting Mike direct in the chest and knocking him to the floor. His wand flew from his hand in the process, causing him to scramble for it when he was able to pull himself up from the floor.

Once he got a hand on it, it didn't take Mike but a second to turn and throw his own curse back at Draco. "Rictusempra!" The spell hit Draco with such force that he fell to the ground, but instead of the pain we expected, he rolled around in fits of laughter. Draco was laughing so hard that he couldn't talk; he could only manage to gasp in sort sharp breaths, at least to start with.

"I'm no heir. I don't want to be the heir!" Mike shouted, still trying to catch his breath.

Our classmates were laughing almost as hard as Draco was while Mike was still trying to catch his breath from the first spell. Snape and Lockhart were trying to get them to stop, but that all came to a halt when Draco was able to catch his breath just long enough to cast his next one. "Tarantallegra."

Mike had just been able to stand when Draco's spell caught him in the legs. Instead of the jelly legs jinx I had been expecting, Mike began to dance. That just caused the class to burst out into further hysterics. Mike really couldn't dance, but whether that was his talent or because of the spell, we'd never know.

We were all so absorbed by what was happening in front of us that just about everyone watching jumped when Snape took matters into his own hands. "Finite Incantatem _,_ " he bellowed, pointing his wand between Mike and Draco. Immediately, their laughing and dancing stopped, and they collapsed on the ground panting heavily.

"I think we should do this another way, Professor Lockhart," Snape sneered toward the star of the show. "One big group is obviously not going to work."

Lockhart peered at Isa and me from the corner of his eye, like it was our fault things hadn't gone to plan. "No, I can see that. However, I have a fabulous idea! Let's get two students up here to demonstrate _defensive_ spells only." He looked around, skipping over me and Isa, before settling on Neville. "Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Finch-Fletchley. Up you come."

"Mr. Longbottom couldn't cast his way out of a paper bag," Snape growled. "Let's have two that can do that at least."

 _Hey, I so can too!_ Neville thought. _But I don't want to be the center of attention anyway._

"Newtonian, Malfoy. Here; now."

Both Mike and Draco frowned. They both thought the exact the same thing when they were called to the stage. _I'm not a dog._

What I couldn't believe, though, was that after that demonstration, he expected them to perform again. They weren't his personal lap dogs, but he wanted to punish someone because he couldn't punish me.

It was Isa's thoughts that caught my attention. _He really needs to learn to be nicer. What happened to catching more flies with honey than vinegar?_

"He's so jaded that he doesn't know how to be nice. I don't know if you can ever turn that kind of bitterness around. Mike's going to have to be careful … later."

Isa snorted. _You mean when the secret's exposed. He hates James that much?_

"He'll be the symbol of all he could have had if Lily had chosen him."

 _Oh, that's not going to be good._

We became silent as Mike and Draco made their way onto the stage, but at opposite ends to each other. Snape whispered a spell into Draco's ear as he walked past, one I hadn't heard of before, telling him to use that one and nothing else. Lockhart was looking wary, more so because it seemed Snape had taken over his club than anything. He spun away from the center of the table, wishing Mike good luck as they crossed paths. Mike and Draco stood in the middle of the stage and copied the movements that Snape and Lockhart had done at the beginning. Their movements were a little clumsier looking due to the fact that it was the first time they performed them, let alone doing so in front of an audience. Having to take this position would be harder than they expected it to be. I wish I could reassure them, letting them know that all would be okay.

Not that I knew that, and I had a feeling this was going to turn out worse than we all expected.

Mike and Draco spun and walked or stumbled to their side of the stage then proceeded to take their positions, somewhat. Draco had his wand arm up above his head like Snape had demonstrated, while Mike had taken the opposite. His wand arm was pointing directly at Draco with his hand curled up around the back of his head.

Before either of them could say anything, Lockhart spoke up. "On the count of three, cast your spell to _disarm_ your opponent only. We don't need any accidents here. One … two … three!"

Draco was slightly faster, but only because he moved on the count of two instead of waiting for three. He moved forward one step by swinging his arm around behind his back to strike at Mike. "Serpensortia."

Instead of a spell that would throw Mike backward or produce hilarious results, with a flash of light, a rather large snake flew out of the end of Draco's wand and landed in the middle of the stage before starting its slide toward Mike. Snape was smirking; he'd heard the rumors and was hoping to dispel them by showing that Mike was nothing like Salazar Slytherin.

I decided this was a good time to try to take some of the heat off Mike by using my knowledge of Parseltongue, so I started to fight my way to the stage.

 _Teddy, what are you doing?_

The answer to Isa's question would have to wait. She'd understand soon enough. Before I could get there though, Snape stepped in. "Allow me, Newtonian; I'll get that for you."

"No, I'll do it," Lockhart argued, pointing his wand at the snake. "Alate Ascendare." Once again, Lockhart had a knack for making things worse instead of better. His spell didn't make the snake disappear; Lockhart sent it flying into the air, and it did nothing but piss it off. The poor thing landed with a thud, causing it to become a little dazed. But that wasn't what concerned me; it was the look on Mike's face as he stepped toward it before he spoke the words that would seal his fate as the heir of Slytherin.

" _Stop; stay where you are. Please don't hurt anyone,"_ he hissed out in Parseltongue, which caused the snake to look up at him. Once it did though, it spun around to look at the gathering crowd, deciding not to take heed of Mike's warning. It picked a person out in the crowd; unfortunately, it was a believer of the rumor, from Hufflepuff. Justin Finch-Fletchley.

It slid closer to the edge of the stage, toward Justin, just as I reached the area it was happening. " _You will not hurt that child,_ " I hissed, causing everyone to look at me and snapping Mike out of the trance he seemed to be in. " _You will do as I tell you or you will suffer my wrath."_

The snake looked back at me before sliding down the stage toward me, seemingly to follow my direction. Just as I reached out to grab it, to get rid of it, Snape cast one final spell. "Vipera Evanesca." The spell hit the snake, disintegrating it in seconds, but the damage was done.

Mike was now thought of as the heir of Slytherin, while they were just more afraid of me.

~*~UHS~*~

The night was filled with people talking around and about Mike being the heir of Slytherin, and about the fact that he could have been the one to open the Chamber of Secrets and let loose the monster hurting the muggle-borns in Hogwarts.

It was so bad that he had to leave the Great Hall before he'd eaten his dinner. Isa had called Kreacher and asked him to have Mike's dinner brought to him in the Common Room. He'd finished completely by the time we'd filled the twins in at dinner and made our way to the tower. Poor Mike was miserable, and I felt we were going to make it worse because I had at least one question.

Once we'd filed in and taken our seats in my area of the Common Room, I used my senses to see if we were going to be overheard. When I determined that we weren't, I turned back to Mike.

"Did you know? That you could talk to snakes?"

"No, Edward. I promise you. That was the first time, and I didn't even realize I was doing it until you spoke."

"Are you sure, Mike? This is really important."

Mike shook his head so hard I thought he was going to cause damage to himself. "No, really. I promise you. I've never had the urge to talk to a snake before. Why? What's going on?"

I took a deep breath, preparing to tell him some facts about the heir of Slytherin. I released it in a hard sigh. "You know the rumors that Ron has been spreading?"

Mike, Hermione, and the others all nodded their heads.

"Well, it's possible that if Mike Newtonian actually existed, he could be related to whomever the heir of Slytherin is."

There was a massive outburst from everyone around Isa and me. I let them carry on to get it out of their systems before I called for them to get quiet.

"Okay, guys, stop before we draw attention to ourselves. I've been doing some research into this since Ron started his 'rumor.' While Mike Newtonian is a possible heir, the thing that clinched it today was the fact that you can speak Parseltongue." I held up my hand because they were all about to interrupt. "I know you guys know what Parseltongue is." I pointed between the twins, Hermione, and Neville. "But Mike doesn't.

"Parseltongue is the language of the snakes. The reason I can speak it is because I heard someone speak it last year, and I wanted to be able to understand it. So I read, researched, and learned what I needed to know. The problem now is you've confirmed Ron's rumor, and the school is convinced that you're the heir of Slytherin."

Everyone was shocked, well, all except Hermione, Isa, and me.

"But why?" Mike asked.

This time, it was Isa who sighed. "Mike, the most famous person to ever speak Parseltongue was and still is Salazar Slytherin. Didn't you ever wonder why the symbol of Slytherin house was a snake?"

He shook his head. "I'd never thought about it at all. Although, maybe I should have. What's going to happen now?"

"Well, for now, we're going to bed. We're going to make the best of our last week at school, and then we're going home for Christmas. We all need the break."

Everyone nodded, contemplating everything we had discussed, but poor Mike was devastated. He didn't want to be known as the heir; he didn't want that stigma.

Unfortunately, it seemed that was exactly what was going to happen because I was listening to the thoughts of the other Gryffindors coming up the stairs. They were still talking about what had happened; that was, until they walked through the portrait and saw Mike sitting there. Everyone shut up, including all in our group.

The whole time the other Gryffindors were in the tower making their way up to their dormitories, nobody said a word. They gave a wide berth to the place where Mike was sitting and kept their eyes on him until they made their escapes. It really was very silly, if you asked me, because I could have just as easily been the object of their morbid fascination, but thanks to the words of a jealous little boy, they all ostracized the one who would potentially save them all.

Small mindedness at its best.

"It's going to be a long week," Mike sighed when the last one passed.

"It is, and you have to go to your dorm yet." I pointed out.

Mike grumbled under his breath while pulling his bag closer. "Just tell me when they're all asleep."

I smirked. "Will do."

With that, we all pulled out our homework to support Mike in the best way we knew how, just by being there.

~*~UHS~*~

We were on the downward arc of the week as Isa and I made our way to our defense lesson. We had been trying to avoid most everybody outside of our classes this week in support of Mike. The rumors had been flying, to nobody's surprise, with Ron's smug face at the helm. It seemed that even if he didn't know everything, he was still going to be a pain in the ass.

"What do you think we'll do this lesson?" Isa asked as we made our way down the corridor.

I shrugged. A move that would have been totally unlike me a few years ago, but thanks to Isa, and becoming more accepting of myself and who I was in my own skin, felt more comfortable than I could have imagined. "I'm not sure. We've done so well on our own getting through the books that we have."

Isa snorted. "Yeah, because Professor Lockhart's were all so _riveting_."

I chuckled because she was right. "Well, no. Those were very … stimulating." I argued pathetically because we both knew I was lying. "I mean more along the lines of the other ones. Some of those in the _Guide to Self-Protection_ were very interesting and more than a little informative."

"Oh yeah, especially the bit about vampires."

Her sarcasm took me by surprise. I was laughing so hard that I was bent over, grabbing my knees to hold me upright. Once I gained some control, I stood back up and took some deep breaths before I looked down at my beautiful girl. I felt something deep inside me click. I knew I would be in love with this person, deeply in love, when she was ready and old enough, for the rest of our lives. But for now, that love was beautiful in its simplicity.

Then I rolled my eyes because she was right.

"Okay, so that part of the book needs some updating, and a lot of it. Your essay should cover that if you ever want to publish it."

Dumbledore had given us an assignment after we had read the guide. He asked us to take one section of the book, research things that had been learned since the book, and write an essay essentially explaining it all to what would be a first-year student. Isa had, of course, taken the vampire section and turned it on its head. Her essay, which should have been only one and a half parchments long, ended up being nearly ten. There was just so much information, and now that she had access to it through me and our family, she decided she was going to get as thorough as she could. Yet she still ran out of time and had to rush the ending.

I'd chosen to do work on werewolves. While mine wasn't as extensive as Isa's had been, I'd given a lot more up-to-date information that I had learned. Mostly from Lupin himself, but also from what I had observed. The most important fact, to me, was that, like vampires, the human side of the werewolf could choose to be good or bad. They had that option because they only morphed three nights of the month. But unlike vampires, when they were in wolf form, they couldn't help what they did. Their wolf completely took over, and they were controlled by their animal urges.

It was a fascinating subject, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about someone so close to me.

"Welcome, Edward and Isabella," Dumbledore called as we walked through the door. "Last lesson before Christmas break, are you excited to be getting out of here for a while?"

Isa slumped into her chair, nodding dramatically while I laughed at her before turning to Dumbledore. "We're relieved, yes. I think though that Mike is the one looking forward to it the most. The children have been rather … harsh to him as of late."

The frown that darkened Dumbledore's gaze could only be described as one of anger. "I have heard. And that is in no small part, once again, thanks to Professor Snape. I believe you may have been right in your assessment, Edward. But I dare not release him to the world at large; he could become more dangerous left to his own devices than here, monitored at the castle."

I nodded, while taking my seat because he was entirely correct. We had to keep an eye on him because of his ties to the Dark Lord, whether they were existent or not, it needed monitoring.

"You do know, Professor," Isa interrupted my thoughts, "that once Mike is revealed, it's only going to get worse. He'll be unbearable toward our friend, which will make it that much harder to bear his abhorrent personality."

"That thought has crossed my mind, yes. But what do we do? We cannot leave him unmonitored. Even Pokey has his limits in following someone in the outside world."

"I think we just have to prepare Mike for the possibility and pray that Snape learns to close his mouth before it seriously gets him into trouble," I concluded. "For now, though, what are we learning today?"

Dumbledore smirked at me because he knew I'd read his thoughts. But I had also not spoken to Isa about them. "I have the essays you wrote and gave to me last week. They were brilliant with all of their new information, but I did however notice something was wrong with yours, Isa."

She looked up at him shocked because she knew the material in and out, and she knew there was nothing wrong with what she had written. "What, professor?"

He smiled kindly at her. "You have rushed the ending. There was more to be added, and you left it all out."

"I ran out of time." She gave a watery giggle. "There was so much to add and so much more I had to say, but I couldn't get it all done!"

Dumbledore chuckled with her. "I could see that when I reached the ending. I have given you full marks for this, but I want you to do something for me."

"What's that?"

"Finish it and bring it back to me. I want to get it published and use it in the curriculum. What you had to say was relevant, and it is about time it gets updated. The werewolf information was relevant but that is easily updated, the vampire one has been less so for a long time. Now that we can, I want to do so. And, Isabella, yours is the best I have read in a long time."

Isa's mouth was hanging open in shock, I think. She hadn't expected that from our headmaster. "Really? You want to publish it and use it at school?"

Dumbledore laughed this time. "Yes, Isabella, I do. It was a very well thought out and easy to read essay. There will be some work to get it to textbook standard, but I'm sure Edward can help you with that." I nodded when Isa looked up at me. "And I have no doubt that your entire family can help you with any further information out there. But make sure that you include both sides of the coin, the good"—Dumbledore waved his hand in my direction—"and the bad, like the Volturi or nomads. If it is going to be educational, we have to include both sides."

"Of course, professor. I'll try to do just that," Isa stated while she took back her parchment and placed it carefully in her bag.

I leaned over and kissed the top of her head because I'd heard all of this from Dumbledore's thoughts. The fact she was going to be a published author, and that she was going to help train young minds like hers was more exciting than I could say. And all before she finished her school career; I couldn't be prouder.

"I know you will." He smiled and patted her hand. "Now, today before you leave for your break, we are going to watch one more of my memories. It will be of the first time I met young Tom Riddle. I think this will show what kind of character he had, even back then."

Dumbledore had closed his mind off when he started talking about this memory. I could only imagine what we were about to see. I watched with trepidation as he pulled the pensieve closer and waved his wand over the top to find the memory.

"Ah, here it is. Are we ready?"

"We are, professor," Isa and I replied. We held hands before we placed our heads into the bowl.

After passing through the cool liquid, we landed on our feet in a busy London street. Looking around, we found Professor Dumbledore jauntily crossing the road in front of us, wearing a very interesting plum velvet suit. Isa and I were still chuckling when our Dumbledore landed beside us.

He chuckled also. "It seems my muggle attire has not improved in the time since this memory."

We followed along behind the younger version of our headmaster. "Did you know after meeting Tom that he would become what he became?"

"No. Although, I should have paid much closer attention than I did. For that, I am at fault. You'll see what I mean when this is done."

We grew quiet as Dumbledore climbed the stairs to a building that was dark and rather shabby looking. The outside was gray, and the paint was flaking in areas, but otherwise, it was neat, tidy, and well looked after. Isa was looking around the grounds, wondering what kind of place this was.

"This is an orphanage, Isa. A place where children live that have no parents. Similar to the Middle Houses in the wizarding world."

 _They're unwanted? Their parents just gave them up?_

I smiled a small sad smile as I bobbed down to her level. "Not all children in orphanages or middle houses are unwanted children. Sometimes, they are children without family at all; their parents may have died, and they had nowhere else to go. I know you're angry at your mum for dumping you with virtual strangers, but it doesn't happen everywhere. Although, I'm sure some of these children are unfortunate like that as well."

 _Oh. These poor children. No one should ever be without parents. I loved Molly and Arthur, but they weren't my mum and dad, you know?_ I nodded because I knew exactly what she meant. So instead, I held her tight to my side, once I was standing, until a young woman wearing an apron over her clothes answered the door from the knocking Dumbledore had placed upon it.

"C-can I h-help ye, sir?"

"You can. I believe I have an appointment with Mrs. Cope."

The girl looked up and down at Dumbledore and what he was wearing. "Uh, sure. Hang on a moment. MRS. COPE …" she yelled over her shoulder.

There was a muffled answer from behind her. For a minute, I wondered why it was muffled, even to me, until I remembered this was a memory, and if Dumbledore wouldn't have heard it, I couldn't either.

"Please, sir, come in. Mrs. Cope will be wit ye in a mo." The young woman stepped aside, providing the room for Dumbledore to enter. What was miraculous was that because she was still contemplating his attire, she left the door open long enough for us too.

"Professor, what would happen if the door closed before we walked in?" Isa asked with all her innocence on display. Although, it was something I wanted to know too.

Our Dumbledore chuckled. "Nothing, dear girl. We could simply walk through it like we were ghosts."

Isa squealed. "Oh, that's cool. I want to try that."

Dumbledore and I were still laughing at her when a rather short, portly woman made her way down the hallway between the clean but rather drab rooms on either side. She spit out one last order to someone off to the side before looking in our direction and coming to a complete stop with her mouth wide open.

"Oh, to be able to hear their thoughts," I moaned, which caused Isa to laugh at me this time.

"You're never satisfied, Teddy! Anywhere else, you want to shut it out, but here, all you want to do is hear them!"

Professor Dumbledore chuckled quietly. "Ah, the curse reveals itself."

"Indeed."

By the time we'd completed our banter, Mrs. Cope seemed to have come out of her stupor. "Uh, I'm sorry, sir. But what can I do for you today?"

Dumbledore stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Mrs. Cope, I wrote to you earlier this year asking you for an audience. You wrote back and advised me that this time would be most preferable. I am Albus Dumbledore."

"Yes, yes, I remember. Please, come this way." She abruptly spun and started waddling away, calling out to some of the other aproned workers as she went. "Mary, please start on the children's lunches, and April, make sure the beds are made."

We heard echoes of "Yes, ma'am," before the girls were scurrying off to do their jobs.

"Please excuse the state of my office; children come and go quite quickly around here and trying to keep track of them can be quite difficult," Mrs. Cope apologized as she and Dumbledore walked around some of the stacks of folders to make their way to her desk.

"I understand, more than you know," Dumbledore started. "I'm very grateful for your time."

"My name is Valerie Cope. May I call you Albus?" Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you. Your letter was rather vague as to what you wanted to speak to me about."

"I apologize for that, Valerie. But I thought this might be better spoken about in person. I'm here in regard to Tom Riddle."

Something in her face told me she was reluctant to discuss that topic, and I could tell Dumbledore thought the same thing. Valerie turned her chair around to hide more of her reaction from her guest, but I was watching him. He discreetly waved his wand making a tray of tea appear on her desk, but it was the small vial I watched him pour into the cup closest to her that caught my attention.

"What was that, Professor?" Isa asked as she watched him pour it in also.

Our Dumbledore smirked just a little before looking down at Isa. "That, my dear, is just a little something to help her answer my questions truthfully."

Isa gasped, a truly scandalized sound. "Professor! Using Veritas to do your dirty work!" Then she promptly burst into giggles.

"Veritas?" I questioned.

 _Truth serum,_ Dumbledore thought as we were interrupted by the memory playing out in front of us.

"What about him?" Valerie asked as she turned back around.

"Can we have a spot of tea?" Dumbledore countered, surprising her. Either because she "forgot" the tray was there or because she had an inkling that it hadn't been. But Valerie nodded and got up to pour the tea anyway. "Tom was born here, is that correct?"

Mrs. Cope had picked up the tea in which Dumbledore had poured the potion. "Yes," she replied when she had sat back into her chair. "His mother had come here, sick and very weak. Granted, it was the coldest New Year's Eve we'd had for a while. The poor thing couldn't have been much older than I was at the time, and I'd only just started here. But I remember that night so clearly. She was in labor and needed help to deliver. She was here all but a few hours before he was born. It was very common in those days for girls to deliver like that."

Dumbledore nodded, a very concerned look on his face. He took a sip of his tea before he spoke again. "What happened after he was born?"

"She wasn't long for this world, I'm afraid. I'm sure the poor thing was taken advantage of, looking like she did; there can't have been much else of an explanation."

I clenched my fists. That reasoning made me as mad today as it did back when I was a kid. There was no reason, none, good enough for a man to take advantage of a girl. I know that wasn't what happened with Merope, and really, she was the one who'd done the taking, but no woman deserved to have that type of trauma reduced to that.

I felt a hand come down onto my shoulder and squeeze tightly. "That reasoning was very wrong, Edward. More so then, than today. At least, men can be prosecuted for it today; back then, it was how things were handled."

"I know," I growled. "It doesn't make it right."

"It doesn't; you're right. But we aren't here for that. Maybe it's something you can work on in all your long years to come."

I nodded then focused back on the conversation.

"Did she say anything before she passed from this world?" Dumbledore asked the obvious follow up question, hiding his disgust—though not well—for what had been said before.

With this question, Valerie's head started bobbing like a bobble head doll. "She spoke directly to me as I was the one left to help the poor dear clean up. She said 'I hope he looks like his papa. I want him to be named Tom after him and Marvolo after my father,'" Mrs. Cope paused to see if she'd get a reaction out of him. I presumed for the name. When she received nothing, she continued with her tale. "The last words I heard from her was that the boy's last name was to be Riddle. I was holding her hand when she died a few minutes later."

They both paused, seeming to take the story in as they finished up their cups of tea. When they both placed them down, Mrs. Cope asked Dumbledore if he'd like another. He agreed to the second cup before starting on his next line of questions.

"Did anyone ever come looking for him?"

Mrs. Cope shook her head. "Nobody. No Toms, Marvolos, or Riddles, and the poor boy has been here his entire life. Why is it that you are interested in Tom Riddle?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I'm actually a professor at a specialty school, and Mr. Riddle has been given a place to attend."

"What school? I know he hasn't applied at any schools?"

"It's a rather special school called Hogwarts. Due to his lineage, he's had his name down since birth."

"You do know that he has no money, don't you, Mr. Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore smiled an unassuming smile. "He has a scholarship to attend Hogwarts."

"Huh. Funny things happen to a funny boy."

"Funny? Funny how?"

This seemed to pull Mrs. Cope up short. "You say he has a place there? That nothing I say will stop him from attending?"

"Nothing you say will change our minds. He will be attending Hogwarts come fall."

Mrs. Cope looked at Dumbledore studiously over her cup of tea. Like she was trying to make up her mind whether she trusted him or not.

 _I didn't know the truth serum worked like that,_ Isa mumbled in her thoughts.

"In what way, Isa? Isn't it working like it should?"

"Yes, Teddy. But usually when asked a question, they can't help but answer straight away, even if they fight it. Did you change it, professor?" We both looked up to our Dumbledore after Isa had voiced her question.

"You really are a bright young witch, Isabella. One, I have no doubt, who will go far in this world. In answer to your question, yes, I have tweaked it a little for situations such as these. Those who need to feel in control of their worlds and their words. The answers will be truthful, but they will also be thought about."

We both nodded before we turned back to Mrs. Cope as she began to speak. "I'm not sure the other children like him. Sometimes, I even think they're afraid of him."

"Really? Like he's a bully?" Dumbledore asked.

"If he is, nobody has caught him at it. I think he must be because, sometimes, strange, nasty things happen to the children who disagree with him."

We all could see the look on Dumbledore's face. He really wanted to push, but instead, he left what Mrs. Cope had said alone, but he also didn't say anything else either. It looked like he was waiting for her to say more on her own.

"But I don't know how he's doing it, either. Surely, he couldn't have hung Billy Stubbs's rabbit from the rafters. And he couldn't have done it himself, right?"

Dumbledore shook his head and lied through his teeth. "No, I don't see how he could."

"And then there was the incident with Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop when we took them to the seaside. They were never quite right after they came out of the cave with Tom. But neither of them would say what happened. Tom just said they went exploring, _but_ something had to have happened." Once again, Mrs. Cope pulled up short when she looked back at Dumbledore. "I can't say that people will be sad to see the back of him when he's gone."

At this comment, Professor Dumbledore sighed. "You do realize that he will have to come back here during the breaks, right, Mrs. Cope?"

"Yes, yes. I understand." Suddenly she stood. "Would you like to see him now?"

Dumbledore looked surprised by the turn of the conversation but stood nonetheless and placed his teacup back on the desk. "I think I'd like that. Lead the way, ma'am."

We followed the waddling Mrs. Cope out of her office and back to the lobby where the stairs were located. She then proceeded to regale Dumbledore with the history of the house and how long it had been an orphanage as she made her way up to the third floor where it seemed the older children were housed.

"Tom," she called as she knocked on a closed door at the end of the hall. "Tom, we have someone here to see you." She opened the door when there was a quiet "come in" from the other side. There standing to greet his guest was Tom Riddle.

He certainly didn't look like he would become a murderer-slash-Dark Lord. He looked like an ordinary boy. But then, what was ordinary, anyway?

"Hello."

"Tom! Where are your manners? We have taught you better than that," Mrs. Cope scolded. For what I wasn't sure. But I watched Tom, and he seemed to struggle with what he had to say next.

"Sorry," he murmured. "Hello … sir."

"Good morning, Tom." Dumbledore nodded.

They both watched as Mrs. Cope fluttered around for a moment, obviously stalling before she flushed and made her excuses, shutting the door behind her. Isa and I watched Dumbledore look around at the minimalist furniture. A bed, desk, wardrobe, and a small chest of drawers.

"Are you here to take me away? I won't go," Tom insisted.

"Take you where?" Dumbledore murmured, walking around the small space.

"Wherever they take the crazy people. That's what she thinks, that I belong with them," Tom huffed before sitting on the bed.

We watched as Dumbledore grabbed the seat from the desk, turning it around to face Tom before he sat on it. "Is there a reason for Mrs. Cope to believe that? Is there something you may have done to give her pause?"

It seemed that Tom was as stubborn as they come because he steadfastly refused to answer that question.

"Regardless." Dumbledore waved his hand around. "I'm not here to take you to the asylum. But I am here to tell you that you are a special boy who needs a special school."

Tom tilted his head to the side at that. "School? Just exactly who are you?"

Dumbledore stood and stretched out his hand. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And you, Tom Riddle, are a wizard."

We could see the shudder that ran over his entire frame when Dumbledore said his name. Before he could ask about the school, Dumbledore interrupted. "Many great men have been named Tom, is there something wrong?"

Tom flopped back onto his bed, crossing his arms and wrinkling up his face. "It's too common, too many have that name. There are four others in this house with it. What do you mean I'm a wizard? Like magic?" he scoffed. "Now I really know you're from the nut house."

Instead of correcting Tom's assumption, Dumbledore looked at the drawers off to the side. One by one they flew open with Tom's meagre possessions flying every which way and landing haphazardly all around the room. Tom flew up from his bed, watching with his eyes wide open; that was until a container about the same size as a shoebox flew out and landed in Dumbledore's hands.

Tom was as stiff as a board and glared down angrily at the professor sitting in front of him. "What do you think you're doing? That's mine, and I expect you to give it back to me."

"Expectations are a funny thing, aren't they?" Dumbledore mused. "What do you expect from your talents, Tom?"

"Control. I like being in control. And having that is wonderful. I enjoy it."

"You want to come to our school and learn how to _control_ your magic?"

Tom, now knowing that magic was real, nodded eagerly.

"Then I expect you to give all of these things back, Tom. There will be no stealing allowed at Hogwarts. Any of that will lead to immediate expulsion. Got it?"

"Yes." Tom nodded.

"Yes, what?" Dumbledore murmured. And I wondered at the look on his face. It seemed he was testing him, to see if he could follow rules.

Tom swallowed hard. "Yes … sir."

Dumbledore stood and handed the container over to him. "Then give these things back, and I will meet you downstairs. We have things to buy in order for you to start by September first."

"Yes, professor."

With that, Isa and I were thrust back out of the memory as well as our Dumbledore, landing back in the classroom next to the library.

"That's a head rush every time we come back," Isa sat holding her head a little.

I bent down to check her out before placing a kiss on her forehead when she assured me she was okay. When I was done, I stood back up and faced Dumbledore. "Those were not things he'd stolen."

The professor smirked at me as he took his own seat. "I didn't think so at the time either. But I didn't want to tip my hand. What did you think?"

I sat down beside Isa, grabbing her hand to relax me from what I had seen. "His mind would probably sound much like the ones I used to hunt. He had no respect for authority, he craved control, and he enjoyed hurting others. Those things in that box you found were trophies."

Isa frowned over at Dumbledore, nodding along, before turning to look at me. "Trophies?"

It was my turn to swallow hard. I didn't want to darken her worldview already; she was still so young and innocent. I could see why parents tried to keep as much from their children as they could while they were growing up. You wanted them to feel safe and be happy, and not to worry about the big, wide, scary world around them. But I wanted Isa informed; she deserved to know the truth about what kind of monster Lord Voldemort was, and the fact that he was a collector of trophies may make it easier for us to find his horcruxes in the end.

"Those were things he'd taken from the people or children he'd hurt. They were reminders of what he had done, and in essence, he'd taken them so that when he pulled them out to look at them, he could remember in excruciating detail exactly what he'd done."

"Oh God!" Isa gasped before covering her mouth with her hand. "He really is evil, isn't he?"

I nodded, but it was Dumbledore who answered her verbally. "He is, Isabella. I had hoped that bringing him here, and teaching him the way of light and good magic, we could turn it all around. Obviously, I was wrong."

We were quiet for a while, all lost in our own thoughts of what this could mean for the wizarding world, and even the world at large, should he ever get into power. It was a grim future we were painting in our heads.

Isa and I were both startled when Dumbledore stood up and clapped. "Before our next lesson after the Christmas break, I would like a two parchment summary of the things you have learned for DADA this semester. Not on Riddle or Voldemort or any of that, just the spells and things you have done. Other than that, see you at the Weasleys for Christmas."

"See you later, professor," Isa and I both called as he made his way out the door.

"For a break from school, we certainly have a lot of homework to complete," Isa grumbled while she put the pensieve back in the cupboard.

I chuckled. "Well, it wouldn't be school without it. Come on, my girl, let's go celebrate our last night in the castle before break. I think some hot chocolate is in order."

"Oh, Teddy," Isa pretended to swoon. "You sure know the way to a girl's heart."

"Let's go, silly." I laughed as I grabbed her hand and towed her out of the room. I was looking forward to the break from school, and I knew she was as well.

~*~UHS~*~

The first couple days at home were spent quietly doing our homework so we could enjoy the rest of the Christmas break. Isa also spent time reviewing her essay that Professor Dumbledore wanted her to finish properly. She'd used her wand to remove the fast ending and continued on where she had left off. During the day, Isa would work on the other items of homework we had, but in the evenings, she'd interview every member of our family, learning all that she could. Most of her information for the other side of vampire life—such as the nomads or the red-eyed vampires—came from Carlisle and Jasper because they had the most knowledge of them from the lives they had lived. She was also including information on the Volturi, and Carlisle was happy to share all he had recorded.

He was of the mind that if he could prevent unnecessary conflict between our two worlds, then it was his duty to share as much of our history and teach as many children how to deal with vampires as possible.

I only hoped he didn't plan to share that information with the Volturi. I'm not sure they'd see it the same way.

By the third day, though, Isa was climbing the walls. After being at the castle for the last few months and then inside working on homework for a couple days, she was ready to get outside.

So we'd decided we'd go out on our brooms for the day, taking a picnic and hoping for the best, even though it had been snowing.

"Teddy, are you ready?" Isa shouted as she came through our suite door.

"Yup. Have you got everything packed into a backpack?" Isa nodded to my question. "Are you wearing enough layers? I know you feel the cold." Another nod. "What is Hermione doing today?"

"She's staying home today with Mummy. She hasn't quite finished her homework yet, and they're going to make cookies!"

I chuckled at her excitement. "Are you sure you don't want to stay?"

"Noooooo. I want out. I want to fly and feel the wind in my hair. Let's go!"

"Okay, okay! Fetch your broom and we'll go!" I laughed.

During the summer months, we'd been flying around on our brooms when we had flown over a meadow similar to the one I'd in Forks. It wasn't exactly the same because the flowers were different, but it was just as beautiful. Over the rest of the summer break, we'd come back to the meadow again and again, it was our special place, something just for us. And it was that meadow we were heading to. Of course, this time we had to take precautions for sitting on the snow-covered ground, but we were both looking forward to it.

The day was spent coloring, talking, and relaxing in the silence of having nobody around. I even had Isa shut her mind to me for a while just to have my thoughts to myself. It was so peaceful.

That's how we spent the remainder of the day.

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Hmm ... so we have the beginning of Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort. What do we think?**

 **See all of you in a fortnight!**


	8. Chapter Seven - Christmas

**Hello everyone! Thank you for waiting patiently while I had dinner with the fam. But as promised, here is the next chapter! Christmas is here.**

 **Thank you to Pienuniek for all of her help, for being my sounding board, and for being my friend. Thank you to Sally Hopkinson for making each and every chapter readable and pretty. I'd be lost without either of you. Cheers!**

 **Harry Potter and Twilight belong to JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer, respectively. No copyright infringement is intended.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven – Christmas**

We were flying home after our day in the meadow when we spotted Athan coming toward us.

 _Edward,_ he called. _Alice came home early … she saw something … needs you to see …_

"What's going on?" Isa asked when I slowed down some.

"We've got to get home."

Without asking a single question more, she nodded then took off as fast as she could.

"We'll meet you at home, Athan," I called as I followed behind Isa. I stayed at her speed because I didn't want to leave her by herself, even though I knew that she could defend herself. On the other hand, I could hear Athan grumbling while we left him behind.

Isa's mind didn't stay silent for long. _Why do we need to get home?_

"All I know is Alice is home early because she saw something. She sent Athan to find us."

 _Well it can't be good if she's home. Let's go see what it is._ With that, Isa laid almost flat against her broom and pushed it to get every bit of speed she could wring from it. In fact, she was almost as fast as I was when I was running. We made it home within a few minutes, finding just Alice on the back porch waiting anxiously.

I frowned. This wasn't like Alice at all. Usually, when she had a vision that required this type of response, the entire family was called to help sort out what we could do about it. The fact that I couldn't hear Hermione and Esme at all concerned me; they were home when we left.

Isa and I landed and ran toward Alice, with Isa blurting out the questions before I could. "What's going on? Where is everyone?"

Alice held her hands up, halting our movements and anything further from us. "Calm down. Everyone is fine. Esme and Hermione are out doing some last minute Christmas shopping."

Isa and I both slumped but then looked confused at Alice. "Then why the rush?"

"Sorry." Alice winced. "I didn't mean it to sound like that, but I've had another vision that seems to be further into the future than the previous one. This one needs to be watched for or something will happen that we may not be able to prevent."

I frowned. That seemed to be more ominous than she was making it out to be.

"Shall I show you?" Alice asked. "It came in three different parts."

"Yeah, please."

The first part of the scene I recognized. Dumbledore was in the meadow surrounding the Gaunt house. It seemed to be crumbling much more than when we'd been in Ogden's memory. The roof had caved in more, the beams rotten and split in some places. The walls had open holes, and the glass in all the windows was shattered. The front door lay outside on the ground with the hinges hanging from the doorway at strange angles, like it had been ripped off of its hinges.

Everything went black for a split second, then Alice's vision became clear again. This time, we were standing in a very rundown room, which I assumed was inside the Gaunt house. It wasn't one we'd visited when we were there with Ogden. It looked like it used to be a bedroom of sorts, although most of the furniture had either rotted away or had been taken over by the very nature this house was built into. But Dumbledore had managed to find a dresser that was nearly intact, and very well preserved. Even so, he pulled out his wand and levitated the middle drawer from its position, then lit up the end of his wand to look inside the cabinet.

I couldn't see anything from this angle, but he reached into the void to pull something out. When his hand emerged, his hand was in a fist; it was when he opened it up to inspect the item that I saw what it was. A ring. I had seen this ring before. Last year when we had started at Hogwarts, I decided I wanted to do some research into the founders of the school. One of the books the Room of Requirement supplied me with had deep background on everyone, including replications of life-size paintings of the founders of the houses, which were hanging in each of the Common Rooms.

The thing that had struck me as odd at the time was the ring that Salazar Slytherin had been wearing. I had thought it strange that the stone in it didn't look like a strawberry-sized diamond—to be honest it looked more like a pebble—I thought maybe the artist had painted it wrong. But now, looking at Salazar Slytherin's ring in Dumbledore's hand, I realized the artist had rendered it correctly. It wasn't a precious jewel; it was an ordinary pebble. And although that was significant, it was the symbol on the pebble that caught my attention. There was a triangle, a circle within it and then a line straight through the middle; I'd have to draw it later to see if anyone recognized it.

The scene blacked out again then opened up to another familiar sight. Looking around, I could see the paintings of all the previous headmasters and headmistresses, the gadgets that sat around moving, and of course, the cupboard that held the Pensieve. The vision had taken us to Dumbledore's office, and the man himself was currently sitting at his desk staring at the ring he'd taken from the Gaunt house. He seemed to be mesmerized by it, in a state I wasn't sure he could be reached had anyone been in the room with him.

"What harm could it really do?" Dumbledore mumbled before he reached out to pick up the ring and slowly placed it on the ring finger of his right hand.

 _Famous last words_ , I thought as, instead of the scene blacking out again, it seemed to speed up. I watched with growing horror as Dumbledore's hand started to turn black from the very spot the ring sat; as the time sped by, the black area started to spread. I could see him consult every spell book at his disposal, a medical professional from St. Mungo's—not Carlisle—and then, lastly, Snape. I frowned at that. Hadn't I proven that the man couldn't be trusted? Yet here he was doing just that. Like that man wouldn't sabotage any help he was giving just to make someone else's life as miserable as his was.

After that, I was back in the yard with Alice and Isa, who was now giving Athan a pat and a treat for coming to get us.

"So? What do you think?" Alice asked while Isa asked one of her own. "What happened?"

I sat down and explained to Isa what we had seen. "I don't understand why he went to Snape though, or what it was that was eating at his hand."

Isa shrugged. "Snape could be simply because he's the potions master."

"Or he's not as quick to write him off as you, Edward," Alice murmured. She put her hand up to stop me protesting. "I don't doubt you're right, but humans are sometimes more trusting and want to give some people the benefit of the doubt. He wants to give him the benefit of the doubt; you've seen and said that much."

"He could simply know more at that point than we do. It could also be something that we've planned but you can't see yet because a decision hasn't been made," I muttered. "I think, though, we should look into what that black stuff was …"

"Teddy, you said it was the ring of Salazar Slytherin. A relative of Voldemort. Could that be a … horcrux?"

I froze at Isa's words. Would Lord Voldemort be that egotistical that he would use things with history, things of importance, to be his horcruxes?

"I think when we get back to school, we have some research to do into important items in history."

~*~UHS~*~

It was the day before Christmas Eve, and I was in Charlie's potion room making some more Polyjuice potion for Harry, Sirius, and James. I'd been methodically working my way through the potions book that Charlie had been working on. Some of them were really brilliant, and some of them I would have to make and test to be believed. I had actually come across a new version of the potion I was currently making and thought it might be a good idea to test it over the summer holidays. According to Charlie, it could last almost a full twenty-four hours when brewed correctly.

Isa and Hermione had been playing with the puppies earlier in the day but were now relaxing and reading in the library. Everyone else had something to do, so the house was really quiet. Even Athan and Saffy were taking a nap; the only thing I could hear from them were their dreams. Kreacher was puttering around the kitchen getting ready to make dinner for when everyone was home.

"Hey, Teddy?" Isa called as she opened the sliding door to the room.

"Yes, baby girl?" I answered without looking up from the page I was studying. I wanted to make sure I could get all the ingredients for the new Polyjuice potion.

"Um … I've been reading Dad's journal; you know, the one he wrote all his feelings in and jotted down notes for new potions he was thinking of attempting?"

This caught my attention. What had she read? I looked up to see her still with her nose in the journal, but her thoughts were jumbled.

"And?"

"And I think he was working on a potion to help Uncle Remus. Something to help him control the wolf and basically make him an Animagus. Although, from the notes here, he didn't get that far."

"Bring that here, baby girl. Let's have a look." I waved her over, and we poured through the notes Charlie had left behind in his journal. It was a stunning array of notes, ingredients, and what could happen with different combinations. "Let me see what I can find in his potion book." I flipped through the book I was looking at. I wanted to see if I could find the combinations Charlie had been using.

The last potion I came across was one that was earmarked, well worn, and looked like it had been read, re-read, and made several times over, if the splashes were anything to go by. Not only that, but there were ingredients and amounts crossed out, changed around, and generally just mixed up. I could follow the basic information, but this was one of the messiest potions Charlie had ever made. The fact that it was still being adjusted when he wrote it in this book meant it was still in the testing phase, and that he'd been in a hurry to get at least something down.

He'd named it _Imperium Lupus_ or _Control the Wolf_.

"Found it!" I leaned over to show Isa. "I think he was still fiddling with it when he was asked to go after Fenrir because it wasn't up to his usual standards. That and it's the last one in the book."

Isa looked up at me, beaming. "Do you think we have enough time to make some of this for Uncle Remus?"

I looked at the instructions, then pulled out my watch—that I finally learned to read—then back at the book. "Yeah, yeah we do. Christmas present?"

"Christmas present." Isa nodded firmly. "I want to help!"

We set the books down and got to work collecting the ingredients, laying them out according to the instructions. Isa and I went through all the steps, chopping, dicing, and crushing them before adding them to the other cauldron I'd added to the room. When I realized I would be using the first one all the time when I was home, I thought it might be best to invest in another one.

"Okay, that's it. We just give it a few hours to brew and it will be finished. What shall we put it in? The normal bottles?"

Isa looked around but shook her head. "Do we have time to go to Diagon Alley? I want to get some special ones."

I set the time on my watch, picked her up, and chucked her over my shoulder. "Sure we do. We can go out to dinner as well. Shall we see if Hermione wants to come?"

"No, thanks," the girl in question answered from the library. "Mum just got home, and we're going to make some cards together. She told me that the best presents are the homemade kind."

Isa giggled from behind me. "That they are! They come from the heart then!"

"Have fun!" Hermione laughed as we said our goodbyes and headed to the fireplace. Esme came out to wait with Isa while I went to Diagon Alley first. We always tried to reassure her fears wherever we could.

The first place we went was The Leaky Cauldron for dinner. I knew it wasn't much, but Isa loved to eat there. It was a place we could be ourselves, talk about the magical world, and not have to worry about being overheard. One day though, I would take her out to eat at one of the fancier establishments in the muggle world. While I'd transferred most of my money over, I had left a good deal of it in an account that would accumulate interest, so I could always venture into that side when need dictated.

After we were done, we ventured out into the alley to get the bottles for Lupin. We made our way down to Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment because he would have different types of bottles there.

"Ah, my favorite mates! It's been a while," Gregory Wiseacre called when we walked in the door. "How have you been?"

Isa beamed at him. "We've been good, Mr. Wiseacre, how about you?"

He chuckled. "I've been very well, thank you. What can I do for you today?"

Isa wandered off to look around as I leaned against the counter. "We're looking for some unique bottles. We have a potion we're brewing as a Christmas gift, and she didn't like any of the ones at home."

"Hmm."

I listened for Isa's thoughts as she was looking, but she couldn't find anything that struck her fancy. She wanted them to be different, as different as Lupin himself, but it was Gregory's thoughts that caught my attention. He'd had a delivery this morning, and when he had moved things around in his storeroom to make room for them, he'd stumbled over a box full of glass and crystal bottles covered in dust. He thought they may just do the trick. I turned to him when he went to speak.

"How many are you looking for?"

The potion we were brewing only had to be taken once a month, right before the first cycle, so a dozen would be good, but a few extra might be better. "Probably a dozen or so, I think would be good."

He held up a finger. "Just wait here a minute."

I nodded. When he was gone, I looked around his crowded store a little. Isa was looking at something in the front of the store while I found a gem tucked away in the corner, buried behind a few other items. In that corner was something that would come in very handy when I was testing not only a few of Charlie's more exotic potions but when I started experimenting with my own. I'd found a FIPRA, much like the one Dumbledore had in his office last year. Only, this one seemed more elaborate than even that one. I wondered if it was any different.

"What have you found, Teddy?"

I pulled Isa into my side when she stepped up beside me. I looked down to see she had some more of her crystal vials for school and a couple muggle books that had been brought here instead of the second-hand bookstore. "I found a tester like they used last year, in Dumbledore's office, remember?"

"Yup. Are you going to buy it?"

"I think I will. I don't want to test any potions that I may tinker with on anyone else. They could be dangerous."

Isa nodded against my side. "I think that's smart."

"Here we are," Gregory called as he placed a wooden box down on the counter. "Are these what you are looking for?"

We both walked over to have a look at what he'd found. The box was quite large, and I was surprised he'd been able to carry it up from the storeroom underneath, then I rolled my eyes to myself. He's a wizard. He had probably levitated the box up there.

Isa and I looked through the entire box, finding all sorts of bottles. The ones on the top weren't all that dusty, but the farther down we looked, the more dust seemed to have gathered. There were bottles of all shapes and sizes, some funny looking, like the little glass turtle bottles and some that looked like modern day light bulbs in an array of colors. There were more beautiful ones that were too large, like wine decanters. Some jade green with copper decoration, some blue with a diamond stopper, and there was one that was similar to the vial used in the Lord of The Rings movies from the muggle world. The stand was made to look like interweaving Celtic knots. One of my favorites was a small group of bottles made to look like small perfume bottles, but the stopper was also the measure. It was like a small wine glass or whiskey glass, and it was made completely of crystal.

It was as we reached the bottom layers, the ones covered in the most dust, that we found some that were really interesting. There were about six or seven of these little pendant bottles that would have been used for oil in the Indian tribes in America. They had a carved wolf's head on the bottle in front of what looked like trees in the background. The whole thing was a jade green with a cork stopper in the top. They would have been perfect if there had been a few more of them.

But the ones on the bottom really caught my attention, and that of Isa, were the last ones that I pulled out. From what I could tell, they covered the entire bottom of the box. Isa let out a little gasp when she saw what I was holding. It was another crystal bottle with a pewter lid, but it was the pewter design on the front that held our gaze. In the background was a full moon, and a large pine tree. In the foreground, standing on a rock, was a large wolf, howling at the moon.

 _It's fate,_ Isa thought, to which I nodded in agreement. It was like they were left here just for us to find when we needed them. The only problem was, in order to buy them but keep things a secret, I was going to have to buy the whole lot.

"I think we'll take the lot."

Gregory looked surprised. "Really? The whole box?"

I nodded. "All of them. We also want what Isa has, and I want that FIPRA that's over there in the corner."

"The what?" Gregory asked.

"The potion tester, please, Mr. Wiseacre."

Gregory rolled his eyes. "Oh, that thing. I can never remember the name of it. Do you remember what the letters stand for?"

I laughed. "It is a mouthful. It stands for _Fully Impartial Potion Rating Apparatus_. We just call it the tester."

Once I'd brought over the tester, Gregory rang us up, and I paid with my key card. I levitated our spoils back to the fireplaces in Diagon Alley to go home. I wanted to search through the remaining bottles and place them on the empty shelves in the potion room. It was while we were waiting in line that I saw my twelve-year-old mate come back out in full force. I did love it when that happened.

"Oooo, Teddy, can we go get some ice cream, please, please, please, please?"

The other witches and wizards around us started chuckling as I looked down at her begging face; I couldn't help but chuckle too. And I kept laughing as she placed her hands under her chin and fluttered her eyelashes at me. "All right! Fine!" I laughed again. "Let's go."

"YAY!" Isa squealed as she ran over to one of the outdoor tables set up at Florian Fortescue's shop. I followed along behind her, putting our shopping down out of the way, and taking a seat across from her. "Teddy, I want to thank you."

I frowned before I reached over and grabbed one of her hands. I ran my thumb over her knuckles before I looked at her. "What for?"

Isa gave me a smile, the one that was reserved solely for me. "Because this was a wonderful date. I've had the best time."

"You're so very welcome." I smiled. "I'm so glad that you enjoyed yourself. But these are the kind of dates we'll be having until you're older."

Isa giggled. "I know. And I'm so okay with that."

We sat and chatted for a little bit before Florian came out personally to take our orders. "I'm so sorry it's taken so long. We're run off our feet in here today."

We both smiled at him. "It's fine; we didn't mind waiting."

"Thank you," he sighed. "Now, what can I ge … Is that a deluxe model FIPRA?"

"A what FIPRA?" Isa and I both asked.

Florian smiled, then walked around to the other side where I had placed our shopping. "This here is the deluxe model FIPRA. Not only will it tell you how good your potion is and what type it is, it will also give suggestions on how to make it better. I've even heard that this model will let you know if it's palatable." He giggled, which caused Isa to giggle as well. "But enough of that." He walked back around to the other side. "What can I get you two today?"

"Chocolate please!" Isa giggled.

I smiled. "I'll take a mint chocolate chip, please."

"Coming right up."

We sat and people watched for a while before Isa started giggling. I turned to see what she was laughing at only to become enthralled with the way she was trying to hide it. I smirked at her obvious amusement. "What are you laughing at?"

"At us!" she giggled again.

"Why?"

"Because we forgot to bring the shopping bag! We could have put all of that in it." She waved her hand to the shopping. "Had we brought it, we wouldn't have had to levitate it."

Isa stopped her giggle fit when one of the waitresses carried our order out. What we hadn't anticipated was the bowls, waffle cone pieces, and chocolate sauce that had been added to it. When we tried to protest, we were shot down; apparently, Florian was so happy to see happy people in his shop that he wanted to give us something good. It was a sad reality that most people were angry or upset the majority of the time.

Isa was halfway through her dessert when she spoke up again. "I've only got a few chapters left of Daddy's journal."

"Oh?"

"I'm scared."

Again, I reached across the table to grab her hand. "Why are you scared?"

"Because I think he was scared, and I don't want my opinion of him to change because of that."

I took in a deep breath before I tried to reassure her. "I think it's very okay to be scared. His job was a scary one, tracking and capturing the bad people in this world. I know I would be scared if any of our family did that—immortal or not—including myself. Being scared isn't a weakness; it's an acknowledgement that there are things that can be dangerous out there."

"Okay."

"Good. Ready to go home?"

"Yup. Let's go. I want to read what Daddy has to say."

I stood, held out my hand, and helped Isa out of her chair before gathering everything and leading her to fireplaces once again. "So, nothing else you want to do?"

"No. I'm ready. Daddy will always be with me, and I'm ready to read his journal."

"Good." I placed our purchases into the fireplace and sent them home. "Now you, sweet girl. I'll see you there."

Isa kissed my cheek then stepped into the fireplace. "See you at home, Teddy …" she paused. "Love you. Swan Manor!"

Then she was gone.

~*~UHS~*~

We had been home for a while. Isa had gone straight up to our suite to continue reading while I took both the tester and the bottles into the potions room to set them up. Among them, I'd found a couple of brightly colored bottles that looked like cats, one pink and one purple, that I thought Isa would like. I had placed them aside.

When I reached the bottom to find the wolf bottles, I'd found there were fifteen of them in total. All I had left to do was work with Lupin to find out how long the shelf life was on the potion. It was as I placed the last bottle into one of the specially divided crates that Isa came barreling into the room with tears running down her cheeks. I saw red blotches all over her face and neck; the frown between her eyebrows completed the picture.

She stalked her way over to the mirror without greeting me, her eyes blazing. She was shaking so violently from her anger that the book she was holding was almost a blur in her hand until she threw it at the mirror shouting, "How could you, Daddy? How could you think this was a good thing, that it would be the best thing for our family? Instead of saving it, or helping it, your asinine idea took you away from me! _And then_ because of your actions, I lost Mummy!"

I ran over to the mirror, seeing that Charlie was standing there with his head hanging down, but it wasn't him I was concerned about. I spun Isa around, fell to my knees, and pulled her into me as she burst into these horribly loud, angry sobs. She was so mad that she started to pound her fists on my chest. Instead of trying to stop her, I let her get out all her anger before pulling her down onto my lap on the floor. I looked up to see that my parents had joined Charlie on the other side of the mirror. My mother and father were standing together, giving Isa's dad curious looks before giving concerned ones to my mate on this side.

Once Isa was calmed down, I reached over and picked up the journal to see what had her so upset.

 _Day 45_

 _I have finally finished the batch of Imperious Lupus for Remus. An idea has sparked from this potion, and I wonder if it has any merit. I'll first have to ask him before I even consider the idea._

 _Side note: I have spoken to Lupin, and while he says he is immortal, in a sense, he wouldn't suggest doing what I have seriously thought about doing. He's an anomaly in his world, and there are far too many consequences and bad side effects for this to be smart. Just because I've found a possible cure for lycanthropy doesn't mean it should be used to extend one's life. He also said that he wouldn't help me in my quest to condemn myself. I can't let this go. If there's a way to stay with my daughter and wife longer than my lifetime then I want to do it. DAMN the consequences._

 _Day 50_

 _The owl has just come in, which means I'm once again going away from them. I love my wife and daughter, and this life of chasing the evil out there has taken its toll. I don't want to leave them. I want to be here to see all the milestones that Bella will reach. I miss so much when I'm gone; regardless of the fact that Renee records them all for me, it's not the same._

 _I've been given a reprieve on my idea since Lupin isn't going to help. My latest target for capture is none other than Fenrir Greyback, one of the most notorious werewolves ever. His list is a mile long, but I may be able to get his help. If I'm bitten, I'll have a much longer lifespan to spend with my family._

 _I have to try._

 _I love you, Bella and Renee. I'll see you when I get home._

"Oh, Charlie, tell me you didn't?" I asked as I looked back up to the mirror. Isa was sniffling against my neck, but she was steadfastly refusing to look at her father.

" _What?"_ my parents mouthed at me since Charlie was refusing to look at me or answer them.

"Charlie managed to develop a potion that would help a werewolf control his wolf. Essentially, make him an Animagus." I could see that my parents were confused, so I explained what an Animagus was. "The problem Charlie saw was that Isa and Renee were immortal while he wasn't. With the development of this potion, he thought he found a way to live with them longer. Only it didn't go to plan, did it?"

Isa watched my mother tell off her father with very little amusement. She did give a few almost silent giggles when my mom had him by the ear. I so wished I could hear what she was saying. After a while, the tirade slowed, and my mother released him, although, his posture gave off the look of an admonished little boy.

"Why, Daddy?"

" _I'm sorry,"_ Charlie started. _"It wasn't supposed to happen that way. I just wanted to be with you for as long as possible."_

"Surely there was another way. Vampires? You could have tried to make a philosopher's stone. Something that wasn't as dangerous?"

Charlie nodded. _"I didn't heed Remus's warning. I didn't do any research on werewolves, none at all. I didn't even look into any other methods. It's like once the idea took root, it grew and grew until I couldn't think of anything else."_

"All the stuff we've missed out on. I lost you, then Mummy. I had no one but the Weasleys until Dumbledore took me to Edward and his family."

" _I don't know what you want me to say, my beautiful girl. I really, really stuffed up by believing that Greyback would help me. I realized my mistake the second he lunged at me. I'm sorry I left you alone, but I'm so glad you have Edward and the Cullens. Plus your new sister in Hermione. You'll never be alone again."_

Isa nodded before she stood, holding my hand. "I love you, Daddy; I always will. But I think I'm going to be mad for a bit longer. I promise not to hold it against Uncle Remus; he just knew better than you." With that, Isa dropped my hand, severing my connection to Charlie, turned, and walked out the door. I watched her go, a little worried that we would have a repeat of when she was mad at Hermione. She must have realized I'd worry about it.

 _Don't worry, Teddy. I'll be fine. I understand Daddy's reasoning because I'd want the same thing, if I wasn't immortal, to be with you. I'm just showing my displeasure with him. Tomorrow is a new day._

I faced the mirror again only to see my parents still waiting there. My dad was smiling at me while my mother was there with her hands on her hips. She pointed at me before she started talking. _"You take good care of that girl. She's going to need your support because she'll probably grieve their loss all over again._ "

"I promise, Mom," I started only to be interrupted by my watch telling me to hurry up because Remus's potion was ready. "I have to go bottle this potion. Thank you, and I love you."

" _We love you too, son,"_ Dad said before they disappeared. With that, I stood to ladle the potion into the new bottles.

The next day was going to be an interesting Christmas, that was for sure.

~*~UHS~*~

It was an interesting affair at the Weasleys the next day. This year, they had an extra family member come and make an appearance. He was a distant cousin on Arthur's side, but what was astonishing, apart from the fact that he bore a remarkable resemblance to Ron—you could see what Ron would grow up to be—was that he was famous both in the wizarding world and the muggle one, for the same thing.

He was a singer, and a bloody good one at that. In fact, before coming to the wizarding world, I had several of the CDs he'd released in the muggle one. Starting with his first album "Plus." That's right; the Weasleys were related to Ed Sheeran. I almost couldn't believe it. In fact, Emmett was fangirling a little; Jasper and I found it hilarious.

Once again, we were all wearing our original Molly jumpers over our formal clothes because they felt that good. Mine and Isa's were blue this year, while the other's all had different colors. Alice was trying to market them, but Molly was being incredibly stubborn for someone who was always worried about money. This could be a big boost for them; the jumpers would sell like hotcakes. When Molly started arguing again, I looked over to Carlisle; if anyone could convince her, it would be him.

Carlisle nodded then interrupted before things could get out of hand. "Molly, if I may. What seems to be the problem with the idea Alice is suggesting?"

"Oh … ah …" It seemed Carlisle had put her on the spot. But Molly stopped fussing around and took a seat next to Arthur. "I just don't see why I should. I use them as gifts; I give them away for free. Why should people have to pay for them?"

"Mmhmm. I can see your point. It's something you do out of love, and we do love them. But I don't think you're asking the right questions," Carlisle pointed out.

"Like what?"

"Why wouldn't people pay for these jumpers? They really are beautiful, Molly, and so, so soft. I don't think there's anything out there like them, and the best part, you could charge whatever you wanted because they are made to order. You don't have to charge a huge amount for them, but they will be an exclusive item. I don't think you're seeing the bigger picture, Molly."

"Which is, Carlisle? I'm not following."

"It's extra income for your family. You don't have to make them all the time. They could be a hobby, which is what makes them exclusive. You could even only make so many a year. And you can make them from home. Just think about it."

Molly sat there with her mouth open, but all I saw was Alice watching a vision with a small smug smile. Molly would give in because she hadn't thought about it like that. All she had known was what she had done up to then—be a wife and a mother. Keep house, cook, and clothe her family. It seemed that modern conveniences weren't the only part of the wizarding world we had to bring up to date. There was nothing wrong with staying at home with your family, but in a world like this, there were so many things you could do from home.

Once that was settled, I turned to face the last member of our group who hadn't received anything from us for Christmas. He was off to the side, which he always seemed to be, and isolated even among his friends. I knew it was the feeling of being a monster that ate away at him, and if anyone could understand that, it was me. It was why Isa had told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was to be the one to give him this gift and not to let him feel guilty about Charlie.

I decided this was the best time to approach the topic I wanted to discuss. The others were all full with Christmas food, the "adults" were chatting while the younger children were playing with their new gifts and Emmett. Everyone was suitably distracted, all except Remus, and I wondered—not for the first time—if werewolves had mates. Because I think that was what he needed, if he could begin to forgive himself of course, because if he couldn't, he'd run from love faster than I could fly on any day. With that thought, I got up and made my way over to him.

"Having a good time, Remus?" I asked as I sat next to him.

He smiled. "I am; thank you. We had good Christmas's with you guys, but there's nothing like a wizarding one."

I laughed while I looked around because, yeah, it was very different than a muggle Christmas. Mostly because everything moved on its own, but not only that, it was watching Fred and George chase the garden gnomes, Isa flying on her broom, and Emmett and Jasper playing wizard chess. "I can see that. But I did notice that you never receive anything. Not in all the years we've celebrated it. You give, but I've never once seen you receive."

Remus shook his head before he looked away and sighed. "With what I am and what I've done, my gift is watching this." He pointed around at all the happy faces.

"You know, Remus, I used to think a lot like you. You know how I was turned." I watched him nod. "Did you know I rebelled against Carlisle? That for ten long years, I chose to hunt humans?"

"No …" he breathed.

"Yes." I nodded while looking at him sincerely. "So if anyone knows how it feels to be a monster"—I tapped my temple—"it would be me. Believe me; you can't have done anything worse than that. Even though I chose to hunt those who hurt others, I still played judge, jury, and executioner. Do you know what that feels like?"

Remus shook his head. "You know I've managed to stay away from people, usually by locking myself away."

"Then you're not a monster. If you chose to be like Fenrir Greyback, then we wouldn't be having this conversation; he is a monster. Lucius is a monster. Voldemort is a monster. You're just a victim of unforeseen circumstances. You need to move on from this guilt; let it go. And I have something that may just do the trick. I have some ideas to improve upon it, but we'll see how this batch goes first." I pulled the little bottle from my pocket but looked up at Remus before I placed it in front of him. "I want you to know we got this from Charlie …"

I watched as he sucked in a sharp breath before the guilty look crossed his face. I placed my hand on his shoulder to get his attention. When he looked at me, I spoke again. "Don't do that. Isa and I have read Charlie's journal, we know about your talk and your subsequent refusal, and I want you to know that neither Isa nor Charlie blame you. At all."

"How … how can you know about Charlie?" he whispered, so afraid to believe.

This was the area I had to tread carefully around. Dumbledore knew what I was doing, but he wanted me to try to give the message without revealing too much about the mirror. I sat back and crossed my arms, giving Lupin a speculative look. "Would you believe I have actually spoken to him? Heard his side of the story? Can you believe that without actually asking how?"

Lupin's mouth opened to dispute it. There was no way, as far as he knew, that you could actually interact with the dead. Even their paintings were only a small part of the deceased. But then he closed it again because he knew the world was full of magic. Just because he didn't know about a way of doing it didn't meant it couldn't be done, then he slumped back in his chair. "I suppose one might find a way to do so. You can't tell me?"

"I'd like to, but it's something that only Isa and I can do. I don't want to advertise it to the world because everyone would want to try and then be upset when it doesn't work."

"Fair enough." He nodded to me. "Charlie doesn't blame me? Bella either?"

"No. Now she's going to kill me if I don't hand this over to you." I tapped my temple again before pointing to Isa, who was standing on the other side of the tent with her arms crossed and tapping her foot. We both laughed as I placed the bottle down in front of him on the table. "Merry Christmas, Remus. From Isa and me; just know there is more where that came from, and I'd be happy to tweak it for you until we get it the way you want it to work."

He lifted the bottle, admiring the artwork on the front. "Thank you. For both the potion and the talk; I feel a lot better. You're right. I need to start working on forgiving myself for something that was out of my control. Even knowing what I know about you now, I don't see the monster you did. You chose to help others by taking out the ones who hurt them. I don't think monsters make that conscious choice."

I picked up the butterbeer that I brought with me and saluted him. "Exactly. Cheers!"

Lupin was a little bit lighter when he picked up his with a smile. "Cheers, mate!"

~*~UHS~*~

New Year's Eve day found Hermione, Isa, and me finalizing the last of our packing to head back to Hogwarts. We were checking and double-checking our trunks to make sure we had everything packed. We also had plans to watch some magical fireworks from our backyard at the stroke of midnight. Before that though, we were going to be having a rather muggle night of board games and being a family. It was something Esme wanted before we all went our own separate ways.

Since Christmas, Alice had been busy in her shop preparing for the release of Molly's Jumpers. She had been drawing and redrawing her advertising campaign while Molly had been busy making a few samples to keep in the store for people to view. Alice was also paying Molly to make her a few more to wear in the shop because nothing says great advertising than the person trying to sell the item wearing their own clothing. The funny part was that Molly assumed she'd be buying her own spider wool. What she didn't know was that the day we returned to Hogwarts, she'd be getting a large shipment from Floo2U, care of Carlisle and Esme, in a large assortment of colors. We wanted to make sure she wasn't going to go bankrupt before she started. It was unfortunate that the replicated spider wool wasn't as soft as the ones Molly made us, but they were very close to it.

There were other ideas floating around the house for Molly, but they would have to wait until we had more time at home.

"Teddy!" Isa sang as she skipped through the door. "Mummy is ready for lunch, then we're going to play some board games. You're going to have to help me."

I laughed at her before sweeping her up into my arms. "Don't worry, we'll be partners, and we'll sweep the floor with them."

"Over my dead body!" Emmett yelled up the stairs. "There's no way you're beating me!"

"Well then, lie down, Emmett. You're already dead!" This came from Hermione's room, causing us all to crack up. Slowly, since we brought her home, she'd opened up to us and healed. She fit right in with our give and take and gave as good as she got. That wasn't to say she didn't have her bad days, but the good far outweighed the bad.

We had a fun afternoon of playing game after game. The teasing was so outrageous at one stage that Esme and Carlisle had to get up and leave the house for a run. They could stand a lot of good-natured ribbing, but it kinda got out of control. We even had to take it outside ourselves when the wrestling started because Isa threatened everything in our suites if we broke anything in her house. Not that Emmett and Jasper heeded her warning.

When they didn't stop, she marched over to the back door, flung it open, and called out to the only one who could help her. "Cortesia! I need your help!"

The paddock that the unicorns were in had a fence, but we also knew that the only one it could keep in was the youngest one, Zinnia. When Isa called, Cortesia jumped the fence with little fanfare and trotted up to the open door. She peered in through the open door to see what the fuss was about then snorted. _Really? This is what you call entertainment?_ She looked at me. Her horn glowed, then Jasper and Emmett were wrenched apart in two separate bubbles before they were floated outside with Cortesia leading the way.

"Only when it's those two, Cortesia. They really don't know when to stop."

 _And how many things have been broken over the years because of that?_

I stopped short as she unceremoniously dropped them on the ground. "Uh … too many to count."

 _Then you should find a way to solve your disputes without resorting to violence, even if it is in good fun. There is far too much of it in the world, muggle or wizard, for it not to be looked at harshly._

I wanted to counter her argument, but what could I really say? She was right, about all of it; we needed to learn to settle them differently so as not to destroy any more.

"There will be no more of this," I stated seriously. "As Cortesia pointed out to me, the world has enough violence in it. But not only that; Isa's house is full of irreplaceable antiques; we can't break things like we used to. We'll need to settle our disputes differently from now on. It's about time we took Esme's warnings as they are meant to be, not as a joke."

Emmett and Jasper stood there looking at me like stunned children being told off for the first time until it clicked with them. They hadn't thought about the fact that the things Isa owned were worth a lot, were irreplaceable, but also held the sentimental value of her father. Then they realized I would completely hit them with some kind of spell if they broke anything of either hers or mine.

"Sorry, Bella," they both chanted.

"Thank you, Cortesia. I've been trying to get them to see that for years. Things should never be disposable," Esme said as both she and Carlisle walked into the back yard through the trees. "For your lack of thinking about others, you two will clean the entire back yard, including the paddock that Cortesia's family live in and the pen for the dogs." Esme held up her hand when the pair of them went to interrupt. "And you will do it at _human_ speed. For every time you forget, the punishments will get worse. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am," Emmett and Jasper mumbled before they walked off to the garden shed.

We watched them for a little while before we traipsed back into the house with Isa dragging me toward the piano. From her thoughts, I read that she wanted something soft, calming, and relaxing before our dinner and magical fireworks later on.

"Thank you, Teddy," Isa whispered when I was done with one song.

Before I flowed onto the next one, I leaned down to kiss the crown of her head. "Always, Isa. Always."

~*~UHS~*~

"Welcome back! I hope you all had a good Christmas break!" Dumbledore boomed to loud applause from his spot at the podium in front of the teachers' table. "I'm very happy to hear that. We are back to your schoolwork tomorrow morning. I know, I know …" He sympathized with the boos. "But before I send you all off to bed, I have been informed of an error here in our teaching methods and, as such, have implemented a completely voluntary class to correct it. After school on Tuesday's and Thursdays, Professor Sprout will be holding a school-wide class here in the Great Hall that will cover all the basic spells usually used and learned in the home before you are due to start at Hogwarts.

"It will cover a wide range of topics from cooking to cleaning, maintenance, and repairs, but I promise they are all very simple spells. All are welcome, it doesn't matter the year or house, and I know Professor Sprout looks forward to seeing you all there." Dumbledore clapped his hands, making the dinner in front of us disappear like normal. "Now, off to bed, all of you; back to lessons tomorrow!"

We chatted with the others while we walked up to the Common Room. I kept abreast of the conversation while checking in with Ginny. Over the Christmas break, she seemed to come out of her shell some. Her thoughts were less cloudy, and she'd stopped wondering about _him,_ and I hoped it stayed that way because she was important to all of us. I wanted to keep an eye on her.

"Are we going to be going to the lessons, Teddy?"

"I think it would be a good idea, don't you? There are simple spells I don't know because I didn't have a magical upbringing. What do you think?"

Isa nodded, but it was Hermione who answered. "I'm going because I'm in the same boat as you. Plus, I'd like to help out with dinner and cleaning up occasionally at home too, give Mum and Kreacher a break."

"Coming from a magical home doesn't necessarily mean you've learned to do those things either," Fred commented from the back of our group. "Mum always did them for us at home; we never got a chance."

Isa nodded again. "I offered to learn once, but she turned around and said because I didn't have a wand I couldn't perform the spells. I didn't always see her with one either."

George grunted. "Mum is a lot more powerful than she thinks she is. She performs more wandless magic at home than I've seen anyone else, but I don't think she realizes it half the time."

By this stage, we'd made it up the moving staircases to the portrait. "Welcome back, Gryffindors! Are we ready to move forward with your learning?"

"We are, Miss Lady. Did you have a good Christmas here in the castle?" Isa beamed at her, getting the same kind of smile in return.

"Oh it was fabulous, Isabella! You may have to stay one year and find out."

"We just might do that. Have a good night!"

The Fat Lady preened under Isa's praise. "You too, all of you! Sleep well and good luck for your first day!"

"Thank you." We all called while we stepped over the knee knocker.

Isa and I made our way to my corner while the rest said their goodnights and made their way up to the dorm rooms. "Not going to bed, sweet girl?" Isa shook her head. "Not tired or do you want to sleep here?"

"No. You're going to the Room of Requirement tonight, to set up?"

I nodded. "I brought my tester that I want to put in there, and I want to research how to make that potion for Lupin better."

"Then I just want to be with you. I promise to sleep."

I stopped putting the things away from my trunk and looked at her. "Is there something wrong?"

I watched, worried, as Isa nodded, shrugged, and then shook her head. "It's not something I'd thought about while we were home, you know?" She looked at me for confirmation, so I nodded then bobbed down in front of her. "So I wasn't trying to hide it from you or anything."

I squeezed the hand I had grabbed. "It's fine, Isa. I know you haven't been thinking anything I had to worry about."

She let out a large sigh, as if she had been holding it in. "Good. But being back here brought it all back, all of it. The danger we're in—or at least the muggles—the fact that there's something preying on the students. I'm nervous and scared for them. What if we can't figure it out and one of our friends get hurt?"

I stood, picking her up and placing her on my lap while I sat down. I pulled her into me, giving her a tight hug. "We do the best we can, my girl. We hope that nothing happens to our friends, but if it does, we keep going until we can fix it or find out what happened. There's no point in stressing ourselves out until there's something to stress about, okay?"

"Okay, Teddy. But can I stay with you, please?" she asked, sounding so much like the little girl she still was.

"Absolutely, go on up and change, then we'll go to the seventh floor together."

"Thank you," she whispered, giving my cheek a kiss before she clambered off my lap. I watched her go before I finished unpacking my things. I was so glad I was able to reassure her because I knew I was right. We couldn't worry about what was going to happen in the future; we had to take care of the here and now. That wasn't to say we couldn't prepare for what was going to happen and learn as much as we could.

"Ready, Teddy."

I turned to see her in her fluffy pajamas. "Good, sweet girl; let's go."

~*~UHS~*~

"… so y-y-you had n-n-nothing to sit on?" Fred and George were pissing themselves laughing. They both took deep breaths before Fred continued. "Why didn't one of the other older wizards fix everything for you?"

The Common Room was empty so we all laughed hard at what had happened in the Forks house when Isa had lost her temper with Alice. It had been a couple weeks since we'd been back at school, so we had been to a few of the simple spells classes that Professor Sprout held. That day, we had been taught the _Reparo_ spell. Well, we were laughing until Fred had asked his question.

Isa looked shamefaced at the floor. "Well, there wasn't really much left; a lot of it was dust particles. But we were so distracted by everything else going on that I suppose nobody thought of it."

"Oh ho, ho, ho! Lost your temper, did you?" George crowed. "You used to throw things around with your powers when you were younger but never quite to this extent. Was the vision that bad?"

"It was worse than bad!" Isa exploded. I knew she'd forgiven Alice, but from what I could read from her thoughts, it still smarted from time to time. "She wanted to replace everything! All those things that belonged to my daddy, everything that was sentimental, she wanted them GONE, all to be replaced by things that _she_ wanted."

Hermione, Harry, Fred, and George all cringed because they had seen parts of her temper. The worst parts.

"You were that mad that you lost control?" Neville asked.

I groaned. "Do you remember how she lost her temper at Brunhilde last year?" Isa huffed at me saying that girl's name while Neville nodded. "Try multiplying that by about a thousand and add in all the furniture and loose items in your living room flying around in a huge tornado, then you might be able to closely imagine what it was like."

"Wow …" he breathed imagining just that.

I chuckled. "No, Neville. It was much, much worse than that." He imagined worse. "Better but still not there."

He shook his head but couldn't imagine what that was like, mostly because he had never done that. His magic had started out so behind that he was lucky to have gotten his Hogwarts letter at all. It was a reason he could never understand why he was called the chosen one. And as much as I wanted to know the reason, I decided it was in poor taste to ask. If he wanted to share what had happened, one day when he trusted us enough, he would.

We were quiet for a while before Hermione interrupted the silence. "Did you notice that Ginny wasn't there today?" We all nodded to her question. Every single one of us were worried. She'd slipped backward in the time we'd been here, going back to ignoring a lot of us and being distant. We had to find out what was going on. "What do we do?"

"What we always do … pay attention, include her as much as possible, and try to find a reason for why she's so distant."

~*~UHS~*~

We'd had no luck on the Ginny front over the last few weeks, which was the bad news. The good was that we hadn't heard from the monster either. It was both a blessing and a curse because I was sure it was just lying in wait to attack again. Unfortunately for Mike, Ron hadn't gotten over himself or the fact that he was starting to believe the rumor he had started spreading before Christmas. It seemed it had grown over the Christmas break; more and more children seemed to be believing it.

Over Christmas, Draco had sent over the work his housemate had done in regard to Slytherin's background. The Newtonians were distant relatives a few times removed, but it was enough to fuel the fire that Ron had started because the person who had researched it had let it leak to the general populace of school. They were both loving their fifteen minutes of fame.

It was so bad that Mike was stared at wherever he went, and it was getting old.

The night things took a turn, we were all studying together in the library. We all did our best to ignore the whispers going on around us—Isa and me more so than the others because we could hear more. But that night, they were loud. Not loud enough to catch the ear of the librarian but loud enough to reach Mike's poor ears even though we sheltered him as best we could.

To me, it was so bad that I was attempting to keep out all thoughts. I pushed it all to the back of my mind to sort through later because most of it was all whispers and gossip. I hoped that if it was important enough, it would push its way through.

"How can they let him stay? He's hurt others!" whispered one of the Hufflepuff students at the table behind us.

"Do you really think he'd own up to it if he did? They obviously can't prove it, and that's why he's still here," whispered another.

Hermione spun around to face them. "Do you think you could whisper any louder? Oh and maybe the reason he's still here is because he's innocent!"

The Hufflepuffs looked shamed for all of about ten seconds, or until Hermione turned back around. When they started whispering again, Mike got up to get a book from one of the aisles. The posture in which he held himself, the crinkle in his brow, the set of his mouth, showed he wasn't far from snapping, and I couldn't blame him one bit. Being the center of gossip wasn't anything new for me. My family and I had been in the middle of it at one school and the next for as long as I could remember. But poor Mike, he'd never known that people could be like that. That they could spread rumors and lies like they had been.

 _Uh oh,_ Isa thought when Mike walked back into our line of sight. He was being followed by a group of Ravenclaws who were whispering behind their hands, even though they weren't very quiet. _He's going to snap, soon._

"I know, sweet girl. I just hope he doesn't do it here."

Mike, who had been glaring at the ground, suddenly looked toward the whispering Hufflepuffs, causing them to stop and recoil from his look. They were all afraid of him, the one plus at the moment. Isa snickered because the Ravenclaw group had taken a few steps backward, even without the look from Mike. It was a surprise they didn't trip all over themselves.

"Go, Mike," Hermione whispered once Mike had slammed down the book he'd picked up onto the table, catching the attention of the librarian. "We'll bring your stuff; just go."

"Thank you," he replied tightly before walking stiffly from the library.

We waited quietly until he was out of earshot before Isa finally had enough. She faced both groups. In fact, we had the attention of just about everyone in the room. "You lot should be ashamed of yourselves. He doesn't deserve any of this because it can't be proven that he's the heir, let alone the one who opened the supposed chamber! Who's to say it isn't all some elaborate hoax by the illustrious Professor Lockhart to be able to write his next bestseller! For all you know, all of you, he could have made it all up and that's why they seem so fantastical! How would you li …"

Isa was interrupted by a large commotion out in the corridor. Peeves was yelling and screaming while there seemed to be an echoing girly voice. It caught everyone's attention. We all froze before getting up from our various seats and bolting toward the sound.

What we found there, none of us will _ever_ forget.

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Hmm so some more information on Charlie, and how he died. I'm sure you guys will have something to say about that.**

 **But what did they see, that they'll never forget?**

 **See you guys in a fortnight.**


	9. Chapter Eight - The Secret Diary

**Hello everyone and happy Friday! It's time for another posting of Under Her Spell, and I have a feeling you'll have a lot to say after reading this one.**

 **Thank you to Pienuniek and Sally Hopkinson for all of your hard work. I appreciate the both of you more than I can say. I wouldn't get anywhere without either of you.**

 **Twilight and Harry Potter belong to SM and JK Rowling respectively. No copyright infringement intended.**

 **I'll leave you to it ...**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight – The Secret Diary**

I could see that just about every child in the immediate area had run toward the sounds of the screams; they were coming from the classrooms all around us. Screams broke out from the first ones there, then more as the others got a good look at what was going on. The first thing I noticed when we reached the corridor was Peeves doing some elaborate dance while he continued to yell and scream. It seemed that the girly screaming was coming from Justin Finch-Fletchley. But that wasn't what had caught our attention.

There in the middle of the corridor was Sir Nicholas, his head tilted to one side and nearly becoming detached and smoking while being suspended in mid-air. The worst part though was that Mike, our friend Mike who had fled the whispers in the library, had become the latest victim of the monster from the Chamber of Secrets.

He was nothing but a solid version of the boy we all loved. Still as a statue and lying just behind the floating version of our house ghost, who seemed to also be petrified. I had seen Colin not long after he was petrified and that hadn't bothered me, but because this was our friend, I was completely horrified. I felt that I had failed him, and I know Isa did as well.

Isa was the first to recover. "Are you all happy now? Has this proven to you that you were wrong! This"—she pointed at the two groups that had been in the library—"is all on you. If it wasn't for your incessant need to gossip, listen to rumors, then ostracize one of our very own, he wouldn't have been in the corridor in the first place!"

It was in the stunned silence that followed Isa's rant that I noticed a couple things I hadn't before. I could hear something muffled coming from the general area where Mike was lying. Before I could investigate it further, several teachers arrived on the scene and started to surround Mike and Nick. I quickly made plans to sneak up to the hospital wing that evening to find out if what I heard was Mike or not. Because if they were aware, they could still listen and not miss out on anything. Not only that, I could possibly get more information on what they had seen, directly from them.

 _Edward, I want you to listen carefully. Come to my office later tonight after everyone is asleep._ I nodded that I had heard Dumbledore's thought before I heard his actual voice. "Who was first on the scene? I want to talk to you about what happened!"

"T-t-that would b-be m-m-me, P-p-professor." Justin held his hand in the air. "Well, me and Peeves."

"Come on, students, return to your belongings and pack up. You are all going to head up to your common rooms and finish studying up there," McGonagall called while she made her way toward us. She looked at all of us when she did. "Would one of you be so kind as to grab Mr. Newtonian's things please?"

We nodded but it was Hermione who answered with a huff. "Of course, Professor. We were already planning to because he had to get away from all of the gossip hounds."

"Good, good." McGonagall sighed. _This is a terrible tragedy. I feel for Albus, telling his father._

I took one more look, trying to hear what I had heard before, but it was far too noisy. McGonagall didn't follow us into the library, which was a blessing because the librarian wasn't there either. That meant I was in close proximity to Justin; with all the noise both internal and external, that closeness would be better.

"Wait, guys," I whispered when they were leaving, just in case anyone was leaving. "Dumbledore's asked me to listen in. I want to stay close."

"What's happened to Mike?" George asked, taking a seat.

I listened to what was going on around the castle and found Mike. "He's being carefully carried to the hospital wing by Hagrid. Professor McGonagall has whipped up a big fan and is blowing Nick into a classroom that's not being used."

It was Isa's turn for a question. "What did Professor Dumbledore want you to listen to?"

"For when he was talking to Justin. I think he wanted me to _see_ what he saw."

After that, they let me listen to what was going on all around us. We were lucky because McGonagall was one of the teachers who trusted her students to do as they were asked. She wasn't going to check on us until much later, although Ron might be a problem. He was looking for us, for what I was unsure. Ginny was the other one I was concerned about; she had all but checked out for the night. I couldn't even find her by her thoughts. I only knew she was in the dorm rooms because I caught her in the other younger girls' thoughts. Ginny was holding a tattered book that I had never seen before, and I wondered where she had gotten it.

Once Dumbledore located a room near the library, he took Justin inside and asked him to sit down. I felt very sorry for Justin; if he was half as shaken as I was, he was finding it hard to concentrate. I know his thoughts were jumping around from one thing to the next. Even I was finding it hard to concentrate on what I needed to be doing.

Dumbledore paced a little, while calling for me in his mind, before he turned to the very scared child.

"Mr. Finch-Fletchley, I know you must be shocked because of what you have seen, and I promise I will personally walk you to the hospital wing when we are done. For now, could you please eat this chocolate, take a minute, and then explain to me what you saw tonight?"

"Thank you, professor." I watched as Justin took the chocolate, then used the next few minutes to eat it and process what he had seen. I watched with him.

Justin had been studying in a classroom with some of the other Hufflepuffs when he needed to go to the toilet. It had been merely a coincidence that he walked out just after Mike was attacked. I looked at all the details that Justin had caught from the many different angles in his line of sight as he played it over and over again. It wasn't until the last run through before he told Dumbledore what he'd seen, that I saw it.

Right as Peeves entered the corridor and started his strange dance, there was a large long tail that slithered out of sight around the corner.

It seemed that the monster from the Chamber of Secrets was indeed real. This was no longer a hoax. I just had to convince Dumbledore of that.

~*~UHS~*~

"This was all he saw?" Isa asked while looking at the picture I had drawn of the scene in Justin's mind when we had returned to the Gryffindor Common Room. Isa and I had left once everyone had gone up to bed after my explanation. We were waiting in the Room of Requirement for the castle to settle before I went to see Dumbledore.

"Yup. But it's proof that there is indeed something in the castle. I just wish we could figure it out."

It was Isa's turn to comfort me because she stood, stepped in front of me to halt my pacing, and grabbed my hands. "We will figure it out, Teddy. You haven't failed anybody and neither have I. Remember what you said when we came back after Christmas?"

My shoulders slumped, and I pouted because she had called me out. "We do the best we can. We hope nothing happens to our friends, but if it does, we keep going until we can fix it. Is this the point where we start stressing?"

"No." Isa shook her head to emphasize her answer. "If we stress, we miss things. We've kept calm so far; let's keep it that way. Now, you're due to head up to Dumbledore's office after you swing past the hospital. I'm going to hang out in your recliner to try and get some sleep. Be careful and don't let Snape catch you."

I leaned down and kissed her on the crown of her head. Although I didn't have to bend quite so far this time, she was getting taller by the day. "Take the map; make sure you aren't seen either."

Isa smirked when she pulled back and saluted me. "Yes, sir!" She giggled before walking over to the table where the map was kept. "I'll pop it in your trunk when I get back." She pulled out her wand and tapped the map. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. See you in the morning, Teddy. Love you."

"Love you," I replied as I watched her walk out of the door. I gave it a few more moments before I followed, after I listened for any minds around the floor. Once I determined that the seventh floor corridor was empty, I sped out of the Room of Requirement. I managed to make it down nearly three flights of stairs before I heard the first teacher's inner voice. I froze for a fraction of a second before I realized it was Esme's voice I was hearing. I listened to her thoughts and found out that all of my family were on campus. When they had heard what happened, they all volunteered to be here for the night shifts for guard duty. They wanted to give the wizard and witch teachers some time to relax and rejuvenate themselves.

"Hey, Esme," I whispered when I came across her.

"Edward," she sighed, relieved. "Are Bella and Hermione safe?"

I hugged her to me. "Yes. They're both up in the common room. Hermione is in the dorms sound asleep, and Isa is resting in my spot waiting for my return. She's dozing."

"Good. Where are you off to? You shouldn't be out of bed, young man." Esme tried scolding me, but her lips twitched.

I chuckled. "Dumbledore asked me to meet him in his office after everyone was asleep, but I want to run by the hospital wing first. There's something I need to test."

"Then let me walk you, and you can explain it on the way. This way, if Madam Pomfrey is in there, I can give you a reason for being there."

"Thank you, Mom." She beamed at my use of the word before looping her arm around mine. I explained to her my theory on our walk because of what had happened in the corridor.

"Do you really think so?" she asked when we reached the correct floor.

I pulled the door open and gestured for her to proceed before me. "Let's find out, shall we?"

Esme and I listened inside the door to see if Madam Pomfrey was on duty. What we found was, apart from the two petrified students and Mrs. Norris, the hospital wing was completely empty.

"Shouldn't there be someone here?" Esme whispered.

I shrugged. "I suppose that nothing is going to happen to these two students. They're already as still and as sick as they're going to get."

"That's true. Where should we start?"

I walked over to Mike. I figured that was a good starting point because he was the one I thought I'd heard. "Mike? Can you hear me?"

 _Edward?_ I thought I'd heard it was so quiet that, had I not been listening so hard, I would have missed it. _I'm here, Edward. What's happening?_

Esme walked over when I answered Mike with such a hopeful look on her face. "Thank God. It's so good to hear you. You'll have to speak up."

 _Think louder?_ I heard him whisper to himself, even softer. _Is this better?_ It sounded like he shouted, but it was quieter than normal thoughts.

"Much. Can you tell me what happened?"

 _I don't know much. I remember storming out of the library; I was so mad. Is that how gossip and lies are spread in the muggle schools?_

I snorted. "Yes."

 _Oh. Anyway, I walked down the hallway with my hands in my pockets. I was glaring at the ground. There was no warning like with the other times. I heard someone gasp. It sounded strangled, and when I looked up, all I noticed were a pair of glowing yellow eyes that I saw through Sir Nick, who was the one who gasped. Then everything went black, and I fell over. I couldn't move anymore._

I looked at the final scene he saw, and he was right; it was only a pair of glowing yellow eyes. "Show me everything from when you left the library. I might be able to see something that you picked up but didn't register."

 _Okay._ I watched his memory play out with not much more than what he told me. The only thing I picked up was that the monster was tall, _really_ tall. Other than that, his mind didn't register much at all. _Anything?_

"I'm sorry, Mike. You didn't get anything more than that. Thank you for trying."

 _No problems. Sorry I couldn't be more help._ It was when Mike went silent that I heard the voice of Colin from the other bed. Esme went to speak but I held my finger to my lips in a shushing motion. I pointed from me to Colin, then her to Mike. She nodded before she leaned over to let him know she was there.

 _Is he going to talk to me?_ was the quiet whisper that came from Colin. _Why can't anyone hear me?_

I walked over to him and spoke. "Colin, it's Edward. I just wanted to let you know everything is going to be okay. Right now, you're in the hospital wing."

 _Hospital. What happened?_

"You were taking photos around the castle. Something happened to you, and you ended up here."

 _I d-don't r-remember._ I could hear the sniffle in his thoughts. _Why doesn't anyone else answer me when I call out?_

I sighed; this was harder than it had to be. "I'm the only one who can hear you in this state, Colin. For that, I'm sorry because I'm not always going to be around. But I will make sure that someone is always here talking to you. Can you have a think about what happened that day for me? Tell me what you do remember?"

 _What do I remember?_ Colin thought. I watched through his memories, which he narrated in his mind as if he was talking out loud.

 _I remember walking out of the Common Room and making my way through the corridors after lights out. I was taking photos of everything around me_. _Most of the paintings were asleep because it was so late; they weren't happy about the flash going off, but I just couldn't miss taking them. I even managed to get a few with the staircases mid-move; that part of the castle is so fascinating …_ he trailed off thinking about them, but that also gave me a chance to analyze the thoughts he wasn't saying out loud. He had two eventual goals for his future; the first was to become a photographic journalist for The Daily Prophet, and the second was to either work for a more reputable outlet or to begin one of his own. He thought the best place to start was by taking lots of photos.

 _Anyway, the reason I was doing it was because I wanted to remember everything. For me, this was the best time to do it because everyone was asleep. Besides, a little danger can be fun, right?_ He continued on before I had the chance to answer. _The only thing I had to watch out for were the teachers. I managed to get some of the Grand Foyer and the Great Hall before I wanted to head down toward the kitchens. I remember thinking I wanted some of the house elves …_

 _Things seemed to be harder to remember after I made it to the top of the staircase …_ Even his inner voice tapered off in its retelling. _The last thing I remember is a pair of glowing yellow eyes, way above me_. Even his body shivered with the memory of them.

If I calculated right, those eyes stood about twenty-five feet above his head. Once again, everything went black before he could have remembered anything significant about the monster itself. It was like the memories were wiped before they could form.

 _That's all I remember, although, I'm sure there was more._ I could see him trying to sort through the murky thoughts. _Ouch, that hurts._ Colin wanted to reach up to his head because when he tried to push through, a sharp pain shot across his forehead from temple to temple. _Ooooouuuuuuccccchhhhh._

"Stop, Colin, don't hurt yourself. Thank you for telling me what you could," I murmured near his ear.

 _You're welcome, Edward. You'll let someone know to talk to us, even if we can't talk back?_

I snorted. "Absolutely. Looks like people can still read your schoolwork to you. We'll have you back to normal for finals."

 _Aw, damn. Although, I would like to wake up._

"I'm sure." I chuckled. "Rest up, Colin. I'll be back if Madam Pomfrey lets me."

 _Thank you. Can you tell my parents I'm okay?_

"Not a problem. I'll have Professor Cullen do it, okay? Keep it to us now that I can hear you."

That time, it was Colin who snorted. _Who am I going to tell?_

I let out a huge laugh at this kid's wit and wondered whether I had misjudged him. "Good point, Colin. Good point." I turned to Esme, catching her eye. "Stay here with them. I'm going to talk to Dumbledore."

"Of course, Edward. I'll read to them from my lessons. When are Jacob and Shane getting here?"

"In the morning." I nodded, listening to Mrs. Norris complain to me that nobody had paid her any attention. She was feeling a little unloved. Before I made my way back out into the corridor, I turned back to Esme. "Give Mrs. Norris some attention as well, will you?"

Esme laughed. "Of course."

~*~UHS~*~

Dumbledore gaped at me, horrified. "They're aware?" I nodded to his question. "And we've left poor Colin alone all this time with no interaction?" Again, I nodded. "Dear God. Well, that must change. From now on, I'll have someone there reading to them; their lessons will be a good place to start; that way, they won't miss anything."

"I suspect Shane and Jacob will be here a lot over the coming months while we wait for the Mandrakes to mature; that might be a good place to start."

"Yes, yes. That's a good idea. I think I'll ask my brother Aberforth to come in as well. He has a teaching degree." I smirked at the idea of James and Sirius not being great teachers before Dumbledore let out a thought that was so laced with pain that I almost crumbled. _I wonder if that was how Ariana felt all those times she was locked away in her room._ _That all she wanted was someone to talk to her, to hear her screams, even if they were only on the inside._ Dumbledore caught my head tilt as I listened to his thoughts and attempted to shut them off before I heard much more. Unfortunately for him, this caused a barrage of memories to attack my brain. Every single one of them worse than the last.

For years, out of pure innocent negligence, Albus and Aberforth allowed their mother to lock their sister up whenever they had company. Ariana was classed as a squib, according to Dumbledore, but there was something off about her face. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Ariana seemed to have bouts of magical ability that would burst forth from her for no rhyme or reason and, usually, with devastating consequences.

Dumbledore sighed. Oh, if there were going to be two Dumbledores in the castle, I might have to start thinking about them with their first names.

"What did you find out from Justin, Mike, or Colin?" he said.

I shook my head. "Not a whole lot. Justin didn't see anything but a tail slipping around the corner; although, he didn't register it because he was too busy screaming. Mike and Colin's memories seem to be erased or fuzzy from their encounters. The only thing they registered was how high up a pair of yellow eyes were. That's it."

"What do you mean? What eyes? And how high up?" Dumbledore frowned, but because he had closed his thoughts to me, I didn't know what he was thinking.

"If my calculations are correct from Colin, being that he was the shortest and had the clearest look through his photo lens, the thing that is attacking students stands at about twenty-five feet tall."

"And has a tail …" Dumbledore trailed off.

"And has a tail. But from my readings into creatures in this world that could be a lot of things."

"Yes, yes. It could be. Just …" Dumbledore sighed again, "Keep me informed, okay?"

"Of course, professor," I answered, knowing I was dismissed, and turned to go back to Isa. I wanted some cuddle time before we had classes in the morning.

~*~UHS~*~

"What can we do?" George asked me as we made our way up to the hospital wing after classes the next day. "Is there anything we can do?" Fred finished.

Hermione sniffled; the poor girl hadn't said a whole lot since last night. I think the shock of the whole thing had finally set in. The one good thing about the attack is that nobody was taking Ron's claims of Mike being the heir seriously anymore. They'd all changed their tune, showing how fickle kids could be.

But it was Isa who answered the twins' questions. "I think we need to hit the books. We need to research every monster, mythical being, and creature that has yellow eyes and stands tall. We need to shortlist them for characteristics and what they can do when someone comes into contact with them."

"And we need it, like, yesterday," Neville murmured. "Is there anything else we can do?"

I nodded. "Bring any relevant school work with you when you come to visit and read to Mike. He needs to be kept abreast of what's going on to keep up his grades. The great thing is that they can hear us, but the bad thing is they can only answer through me."

"Okay then. After we visit the hospital," Hermione whispered, "we hit the books in the library. Do you think we'll have access to the restricted section?"

Isa wrapped her arm around Hermione's shoulders in a side hug before grabbing her hand as we made it to the correct floor. "If not, we'll figure out how to get it. We need access to every book."

"And while you guys do that, I'm heading to the Room of Requirement to see if that has anything to add. Do you have that book Mike had in the library before he was attacked? That was a book on monsters."

"I've got it. That was the first book I was going to check out," Hermione murmured in a stronger voice. "We'll figure this out; we'll stop it because it doesn't seem like anyone else is doing so."

Her resolve strengthened our own. "Got it," we all said together. We had our goal, and we were going to do what nobody else had done before.

Find the Chamber of Secrets.

~*~UHS~*~

"Edward, before you go, can I have a word with you and Isa?" Shane asked when we stood to make our way out of the hospital.

Isa looked up at me as she stood, then turned to Shane and nodded her head but spoke to the others. "Go on, guys, we'll catch up after we've been to the Room of Requirement."

"See you there." They waved, making their way out of the door while we waited.

"What's going on?" I asked Shane when Jacob stood up next to him.

They both walked over to the windows where we followed them. "You guys are looking into this?" Shane asked in a whisper.

We both nodded. "We have been since Mrs. Norris was attacked, but the teachers have been less than forthcoming. There are secrets being kept all over the place, even without them knowing I can hear them."

"We want to help." Jacob started before Shane continued. "We were going to give this to Mike over the summer, but I think you might need it now. Just give it back to us when this is all over so we can pass it on to its rightful owner."

With that cryptic speech, they handed me a package wrapped in brown paper. It crinkled and squished when I grabbed hold of it, like whatever was in it was soft. I frowned, holding it with one hand while I undid the string wrapped around it with the other. If it wasn't for my quick reflexes, the beautiful cloth that fell out of it would have landed on the floor. It was silvery-grey and fluid like water but so damn soft. I knew it wasn't made of spider's silk, but I couldn't figure out what it was either.

"Ohhh, that's a pretty cloak," Isa cooed. She pulled it from my hand, making it flow down to the floor like a stream, before flipping it over and tying it around her neck. It wasn't the color of the cloak that made me gasp but the fact that parts of Isa covered by it had totally disappeared. She looked up at my gasp then followed my line of sight. "I've heard about these. But how did you get your hands on an Invisibility Cloak?"

"Invisibility Cloak?" I spun back to the men in front of us. "What does she mean?"

"Exactly that. It makes the wearer invisible. I'm not going to tell you where we got it from because that doesn't matter. Just keep it safe, hidden, and use it to stop whatever is happening here, please?" Shane asked with tears in his eyes. His thoughts were a jumbled mess because he wanted to be the one to stop it, but he knew it would be revenge, and that was not a line he wanted to cross. He'd seen what happened to people who crossed that one—our Potions Master was a prime example.

"We promise, Shane. But I also know we aren't the only ones trying, just the most active ones."

Isa giggled. "We can't expect Lockhart to do it all, now can we?"

Jacob groaned. "He couldn't find his way out of a paper bag." It was that comment that caused the seriousness to break and attract the attention of Madam Pomfrey.

"This is a hospital," she hissed. "If you cannot be quiet, I suggest you leave."

Isa and I waved goodbye to Jacob and Shane, making our way to the doors while hiding our smiles from our illustrious nurse. "Yes, Madam Pomfrey. We'll be going now."

We made our way back out into the corridor and down the stairs. The worst part was that we had to pass the place where Mike was found to get to where we were going.

"Look." Isa pointed out when we investigated closer. The only way we were going to get more answers was to look closer. "The spiders are fleeing again. And there are more scorch marks."

"That has to mean something. Whatever this is, the spiders are scared of it. It leaves these marks."

"Maybe from the eyes? You mentioned that everyone remembers glowing, yellow eyes …" Isa trailed off.

"Maybe. We can ask the Room of Requirement when we ask for books on monsters." After we finished looking around, we started walking back down the stairs again. Both of us were quiet.

 _Do you think the Room of Requirement will give us an answer?_ Isa asked when we made it to the foyer. There were just too many students around for me to answer without someone overhearing, so I waited until we started to ascend the moving staircases.

"I don't think it will give us a specific answer. We'll probably get a bunch of answers instead."

"Hmph. That won't be helpful at all."

I laughed. "No. But it will be a place to start."

We quickly but carefully made our way up the moving staircases to the seventh floor corridor. Once we were in our potions room, we started looking through all the books that it had provided us on monsters of the magical world. Let me tell you, there were a lot. We were halfway through the pile, sorting them as we went, when we overheard an interesting conversation.

"I think I know what's attacking the students," Lockhart boasted. Isa and I froze when the voice rang out from down the corridor. We listened intently as the footsteps of three of our professors got closer and closer to where we were hidden.

"Is that right?" Professor Flitwick asked. "Does that mean you know how to stop it?"

Lockhart scoffed. "Of course, I know how to stop it!"

I could almost hear Professor McGonagall's eye roll through the wall. "Well, then, all you need to do is locate the Chamber of Secrets. I think Dumbledore might come looking for you to eliminate the threat soon. Best prepare yourself."

Isa smirked at me with a small chuckle when we heard Lockhart's heart jump into overdrive; what was more, I could smell the sweat break out on his brow and hands when he started to panic. "R-r-right you a-are. B-best go d-do t-th-that," he muttered before we heard him slink off away from Flitwick and McGonagall.

"Do you think he knows anything, Minerva?"

"I don't believe a damn word that comes from him. Not his mouth and definitely not his books. In fact, I haven't read one single word."

"Oh, thank God," Flitwick breathed. "I'm glad I'm not the only one."

This caused Isa and me to burst out into uncontrollable laughter. We were both so grateful that at least some of the teachers here used their brains and realized that he was full of himself. Well, apart from Snape, of course. Flitwick had left while we were laughing, but McGonagall was still outside the Room of Requirement, staring at the tapestry of the Ogres learning ballet. She wasn't hearing anything she shouldn't; more like using it was an excuse to let her thoughts wander.

 _I really don't understand why Professor Dumbledore hired that … that ignoramus. He's never done a good thing in his life that I can tell anyway. The yellow-bellied chicken wouldn't know up from down if it wasn't for his feet being firmly planted on the ground._ McGonagall sighed before she spoke her last thought out loud. "Finding the Chamber—if there is one—would be so much easier if we had a map of the school."

"Oh, my God!" Isa and I groaned at the same time. "Why didn't we think of that?"

"Pull it from the bag, Isa! Bring it over here, quick!"

Isa sorted through the bag with all of our books, which we now shared, and brought the Marauder's Map over to the table. I pulled my wand from my pocket and tapped the blank paper with the end. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

We watched in awe as the map once again revealed itself to us. It was a brilliant piece of magic, and I would have to ask Sirius if he knew who made it. Once it had finished showing all of its secrets, Isa and I laid it out flat and poured over every inch of it.

"Come on, there has to be something," Isa urged from beside me. "Surely."

"Unless the makers of the map had no idea where the chamber lay. For all we know, they may not have known of its existence."

"Well, damn. Hey, who's that in the Gryffindor tower? Peter Pettigrew … Didn't you mention him before? Is he a student?" Isa asked suddenly. The change in subject was so fast. I scanned the tower in front of me, noticing how fast that name was moving.

I shrugged, tapping the map with my wand. "Mischief Managed. I don't know. I presume so, given that both times I've seen that name, he's been in our tower, but I might have to go hunting. I know I've heard it, but I just can't pinpoint from where."

"It's not important right now. I think what we need to do is grab some of these books"—Isa picked them up—"go to the library, and fill everyone in. They need to know what kind of monster to at least look for."

~*~UHS~*~

A week later, we were still no closer to finding out what the monster was or where it was hiding than we were when Mike was attacked. Shane and Jacob were getting anxious and annoyed that it didn't seem like the school was doing anything. Our group of friends were scared, and that meant they'd started snapping at each other.

Isa and I were just trying to keep out of it as much as possible.

The one good thing to come from this weekend was that Hufflepuff beat Slytherin in the Quidditch match. The game had been a way for us all to take a step back from spending every second in the library looking for monsters and let off some steam. It wasn't that we hadn't found any; it's that we'd found too many. There were so many monsters out there, some with all the qualities we'd uncovered and some with only a few, but at that point, we couldn't rule anything out.

We didn't know what else we could do, and it was getting very frustrating.

The night after the Hufflepuff and Slytherin match, I was wandering the halls, helping my family and the other teachers patrol for anything out of the ordinary. Dumbledore had given me special permission to be out of my common room after lights out, not that all the teachers were happy about that. In fact, Snape and Lockhart kept as far away from the seventh floor as possible. I snorted. Dumbledore had made it easy for me to keep an eye on my potions and Isa by keeping me patrolling the area closest to her and the Room of Requirement.

That night however, things changed. I was just coming out of the Room of Requirement when a loud inner voice rang out inside my head, yelling or screaming really. _EDWARD! I need you to come to the hospital now! EDWARD!_

I froze at the urgency in that voice, not recognizing straight away that it was Draco. He'd been hurt in the Quidditch match earlier and was recovering overnight. Once I realized who was calling for me, I bolted from the hallway. I think I broke my own speed record getting to him. I burst through the doors, nearly taking them off the hinges, and frantically looked around for Draco. When I spotted him, I raced over. "What? What is it?"

"I have a feeling, come morning, one of the secrets that you have is going to be out."

I frowned while looking down at him. "What are you talking about?"

"I think you missed it in your frantic searching for me, but look." He pointed to a spot over my shoulder, causing me to turn around. I wasn't sure what to expect because Draco had used his Occlumency again after he had called for me, but it wasn't anything compared to what I found. "I overheard Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout whispering about someone changing. Being who they were, I didn't put it together until Mr. Black walked out a short while ago."

There on the bed a few down from Draco's was Mike, or more accurately, Harry staring back at me. Jacob must have left the curtains open when he stepped out, thinking that nobody was awake; Draco just happened to be woken up and when he rolled over found that who he had known as Mike was no longer.

"It is Harry Potter, right? The one who stopped The Dark Lord the last time?"

My head dropped and my shoulders slumped; it seemed that Emmett's prediction would turn out to be right. Secrets come out, and this one was going to cause ripples all through the magical community. "Yes," I sighed. "It is. We wanted to give him some more time to grow up. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"No, no. That's not why I asked. I'm not upset you kept it from me or from us. We had to prove ourselves. But Madam Pomfrey has been talking; she's not known for keeping secrets."

"Thank you, Draco. It seems the secret is out, and the whole school will know in the morning. On the next break from school, it might be wise for you and your mother to come over, and we can explain some of what's going on. You've proven yourself to me by letting me know first." He smiled sleepily up at me. "Get some sleep. I have a feeling you'll be bombarded by people asking you questions about tonight when it all gets out."

He laughed quietly. "No doubt."

I waited a few minutes for Draco to fall asleep and for Jacob to come back from what I now heard was the bathroom. I never did understand a person's need to spill secrets, especially ones that didn't not belong to them. Gossip, I'd learned over all my years was never ever a good thing.

I was brought out of my thoughts by Jacob. "Hey, Edward. What are you doing here?"

I made my way over to the chair at his side, taking a seat before answering. "It seems the secret will be out by morning."

"Damn," he sighed. "Why?"

"Because our nurse has a rather large mouth. I'm going to head up to Professor Dumbledore to fill him in; you may want to let Harry know what he's going to wake up to and maybe Shane?" I motioned with my eyes to the door behind which Madam Pomfrey was sitting.

"Yeah, thanks, Edward."

I stood from the chair and said goodbye to Jacob and Harry before making my way out of the hospital wing. Dumbledore had to be warned. I had a feeling there would be backlash from this in the next few days.

~*~UHS~*~

Hermione sat down at our table with a huff at lunchtime. Her thoughts were going a mile a minute but nothing she was thinking was making any sense. Although, I knew it all revolved around Harry and the rumors that were spreading like wildfire around the school. It had indeed gotten around that Mike Newtonian was Harry Potter, but what I didn't know was how that secret got out. Madam Pomfrey had a big mouth, yes, but Professor Sprout would have known not to say anything.

"What's wrong?" Isa asked from next to me.

"Do you know how the rumors got started?" Isa and I shook our heads to what seemed to be a rhetorical question because Hermione plowed on almost not waiting for an answer. " _Professor Lockhart_ ," she sneered. "In all his puffed-up glory, he stood in front of our first class this morning and _announced it_ like it was a foregone conclusion. He _told_ us that Harry Potter had returned from the dead, that he had been walking among us, and that he had decided it was the right time to reveal himself!" Hermione flung her hands up in the air. She was seriously pissed off. "Like it was his idea to be petrified by this bloody monster, like Harry is some kind of _God_. And then … then … he told us he was going to 'save him and the school' so he could be part of the _Great Harry Potter's Story._ " Hermione sat back panting; she had obviously been holding this in all morning.

"Well … that's a lot to take in. But _Lockhart_ started all this?" Isa asked waving her hands around.

While Hermione answered in the affirmative before telling Isa more about it, I used my mind reading to confirm that was completely true. Lockhart was still bragging about the fact that he knew "The Harry Potter," and that he was currently in our hospital wing. He was making a big song and dance about knowing what the monster was and that he was going to save us all.

"Oh, for goodness sake. What an ass," I grumbled. "Does he have nothing better to do than use other people for his own gain?"

"The answer to that would be no," Fred and George stated, sitting down before George continued. "We didn't mean to eavesdrop, but Hermione's ranting could be heard down the table. But she's so right. There doesn't seem to be anything he won't take credit for, the pompous arse."

That particular pompous ass decided to make his presence known in the Great Hall. He walked in loud and proud, standing tall and making a complete nuisance of himself, well at least to those who knew better. Those who still admired him because of the spell on his books were enamored of him as always. I was interrupted from my observations by a huff and the slamming of a book. By the time I'd spun around, Hermione was up and out of her seat, sending a scathing glare at Lockhart—not that he noticed—and marching out of the Great Hall.

"I'd better go after her," Isa murmured. "We need to be able to keep our cool around him."

"We do. But I also think he needs to know that not everyone is under his spell." I watched as she got up and started packing up the things she was reading. "Leave them, Isa. I'll grab them."

She leaned over to kiss my forehead. "Thank you. We'll meet you back up in the common room."

~*~UHS~*~

Half an hour later, I walked into the common room to find Isa and Hermione in a deep discussion full of whispers. I had listened to their conversation as I worked my way up the moving staircases, but it hadn't made a lick of sense until I saw what was lying in front of them, mostly because I hadn't bothered to look, and because Isa hadn't called for me to do so.

The common room was mostly empty except for our friends but even they were engrossed in their homework, and not what was going on in my section of the room. I made my way over to them, picking up what seemed to be a journal, and interrupting their talk.

"What's going on, my girls?"

Both Isa and Hermione beamed up at me. They loved it when I included Hermione as part of the family, so wherever possible, I used an opportunity to do just that.

"We found this," Hermione whispered, pointing to the journal. It was rather soggy on the outside, like it had been dunked in a bucket of water. "Someone had left it in the girls' bathroom."

I flipped it over, then opened it, only to find the pages completely dry. I frowned, flipping through them, every single page was dry, and nothing was written on them.

"Look at this." Isa pointed to the cover. There on the cover was a date that indicated the diary was at least fifty years old. Isa pulled the diary or journal from my hand before opening it to the very first page, one of the only ones I didn't check. "Now, look at this." She handed it back to me. There on the page, written in smudged ink, was a name—a name I was becoming familiar with the more we researched.

 _T.M. Riddle._

My eyebrows shot up. "How did you girls get a hold of this?"

"Before Bella tells you, Edward, what do you know about this name? There's something there, or you wouldn't have looked so shocked to see it."

I looked at Hermione. "Is this what you girls were discussing when I came in?"

Isa nodded while Hermione answered with a definitive "Yes."

"What do you think, Isa, should she know?"

Isa looked around at who was in the Common Room with us before looking back at me. "I think she needs to know what we do; I think they all do."

"Me too, sweet girl. Hermione now, the rest over the summer?" Isa nodded again. "All right." I took a seat on my chair, facing the two girls sitting at my desk. "Slide your chairs over here, and I'll tell you what we've been working on."

It took me the better part of the next few hours to fill Hermione in on what Isa and I had been doing over the school year, with Isa adding things along the way. By the time I was finished, everyone in the Common Room had gone up to bed. Hermione didn't ask many questions, but I could tell she was making mental notes for afterward. She was quiet, however, when I had finished my explanation. At least, for a little while.

"So, let me get this straight. While we've been going to classes with that brainless oaf Lockhart, you've been actually learning something useful?"

Isa burst out into laughter. "That's what you start with after everything else?"

Hermione blushed. "Well, no, but it was the first question that popped into my head." She laughed. "Will you teach us what you've been learning? Never mind, forget it." She took a deep breath. "T.M. Riddle is really _Lord Voldemort_?"

Isa and I both nodded, then waited for the follow-up question.

"Then this must be his diary?"

"I think so," Isa answered.

I picked up the diary again to look it over. I couldn't fathom why the cover was wet but the pages were dry. "What happened to this diary?"

"After I ran out to find Hermione, we ended up going to the girls' bathroom." Isa tapped her temple to indicate that she wanted to show me. _This is what we found._

" _Why does he have to be such a pretentious blowhard? Why does everything revolve around him?" Hermione fumed from a few steps in front of Isa._

 _Isa ran to catch up so she was matching Hermione's angry steps. "Because he's managed to get away with it for so long. And the longer he does, the more he thinks he can get away with. We'll stop him eventually."_

 _Hermione sighed before slumping ever so slightly and slowing down. "I know we will. Everyone will know he's a fraud. But to claim that he will be a part of Harry's story is just wrong."_

" _It is wrong. We can't let him get to us," Isa murmured as they meandered down the corridor._

" _I kno …" Hermione froze when they made it to the corridor leading to the bathrooms. "Something must have upset Myrtle again."_

" _She only ever floods the bathroom like this if she's really upset, and even then, she's usually moaning. It's how she got her name, after all."_

 _Both girls froze, listening, because they hadn't heard Myrtle while they'd walked toward the corridor._

" _I can't hear her," Isa whispered. "Do you think she's okay?"_

 _Hermione gasped, turning to Isa with her hand over her mouth. She pulled it down before she began to speak. "You don't think she's been attacked like Nick do you?"_

 _Isa froze, then shook her head. "No. I can imagine Teddy would come bolting down the hall if he'd heard the monster again."_

" _Yeah, you're right. We'd better go see what happened to Myrtle, plus I've really gotta go!"_

 _Hermione and Isa laughed before making their way to the bathroom, avoiding some of the bigger puddles. Myrtle really had done a number this time._

 _Isa knocked on the door before she pushed it open. "Myrtle, it's Bella and Hermione. Can we come in?"_

 _That was when Myrtle started making noise; only she didn't moan, she wailed, causing Isa and Hermione to cover their ears, not that it helped at all. But instead of backing away, both girls ran into the bathroom to see Myrtle sitting on the floor, curled up in a ball, crying; well, wailing._

" _Myrtle, what happened?" Isa asked as she and Hermione slid onto their knees next to the girl. "Why have you flooded the bathroom and hall?"_

 _At first, Myrtle didn't even lift her head; it was just a bunch of incoherent babbling. I could sense that Isa wanted to place her arm around the crying girl, much like you would when your friend was crying, but she sat frustrated because even if she tried, her arm would go straight through._

" _Oh, please, Myrtle, won't you stop crying. We want to help you," Hermione pled. "We can't do that if you can't tell us what's wrong."_

 _It took the better part of half an hour for the girls to calm Myrtle enough that she could at least sit up straight. It startled my system when she did; I expected the usual from when a girl had been crying. The red-rimmed eyes, puffy face, and pinked cheeks, but there wasn't any of that. Myrtle looked exactly like she usually did: transparent._

" _That's better," Isa hummed to the poor girl while Hermione had finally gotten up to switch off the running taps. When she sat back down on the other side of Myrtle, Isa spoke again. "Now, what caused all of this?" She waved her hand around._

 _Myrtle looked around at the destruction she'd caused before she looked over at my Isa. It seemed like she had tears in her eyes. Myrtle looked down slightly before looking back up at my girl. "I was actually having a good day, you know?" Myrtle waited until Isa and Hermione nodded to her question before she continued. "I was just hanging around in the S bend, singing to myself, when I heard the bathroom door fly open. I started to make my way up the pipes to see who had entered when that book"—Myrtle pointed to something soaking wet in a puddle across the room—"was thrown into my toilet, straight through my head!" She wailed again._

 _Isa and Hermione seemed stunned for a moment before Hermione asked the question I would have asked. Though, I probably would have asked with a little more tact. "But that doesn't hurt, does it? I mean it goes right through you."_

 _Myrtle startled Isa and Hermione when she flew upward, causing them both to stand up in front of her. "Right because it should matter whether it hurts or not?" Myrtle screamed into Hermione's face. "Fifty points if you get it through her stomach," she growled while pushing her hand through Hermione's stomach. "One hundred if you get it through her head!"_

 _After Myrtle attempted to punch Hermione in the head, she wailed one last time before she flew up to the ceiling in an arc then landed in her toilet on the way down, disappearing from sight._

" _That went well. Nice question, Hermione," Isa stated with a wry smile on her face before walking over to pick up the book._

" _I didn't mean it the way it came out!" Hermione flung her arms in the air. "I just meant to ask why she was so upset about it because it wouldn't have hurt her."_

 _Isa laughed. "I know that, Hermione. Maybe next time, ask differently."_

" _I will. So what kind of book is it?"_

That was where Isa cut off the memory. I looked down at the diary in my hand before something struck me as odd.

"This book was flushed down the toilet and then left in a puddle, right?" I looked up to see both girls nodding, but Isa's face held a smirk, like she knew what I had just figured out. "Then why is only the cover waterlogged? Shouldn't the pages be wet and swollen?"

Isa smiled even wider. "That was what we were discussing originally before you came in. It was like all the water was soaked into the pages, then just disappeared. This diary has a charm on it."

"Sounds like something you're interested in discovering, baby girl." I chuckled at her shrug. "So how do we go about discovering what the diary is hiding?"

It was a question that seemed to bring the girls up short, neither of them had an idea.

"Let's start with some research into charms." I looked around to see that the Common Room had completely emptied. "But for right now, it's time for bed. We'll start looking tomorrow."

Hermione nodded and stood to make her way to their dormitory with a quiet goodnight. Isa stood, giving the diary I had placed on my desk a longing look, before leaning in and kissing my forehead ever so sweetly.

"Goodnight, Teddy."

"Goodnight, Isa." She turned to walk away but stopped when I grabbed her hand. "I promise that when this is all over, we'll figure out how he did this, but in a way that won't get you hurt, okay?"

Isa squealed before turning and launching herself at me. She kissed me all over my face while hugging my neck. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! And I promise, nothing that will get me hurt." Isa gave one last squeeze and a huge smooch on my cheek. "Love you, Teddy!"

I laughed, watching her run toward the stairs. "Love you, too. Silly thing."

~*~UHS~*~

For the next few days, when we weren't in class or doing our homework, Isa and Hermione threw themselves into finding a reason or a way to make the diary reveal its secrets. I had offered to help, but they wanted to expand their knowledge and find a way to do it themselves.

I was proud because it showed initiative and that they were growing up. I kept an eye on them but let them go about it. What I loved was that even though they were doing it on their own, they often came to me to ask my opinion on something. Isa wanted to include me any way she could while doing something completely on her own.

I couldn't and wouldn't begrudge her that.

On the fourth day, Isa and Hermione had a list of charms and spells they wanted to try. Instead of working in the Common Room where all could see, we decided the best place to try was in the Room of Requirement—somewhere we could control what happened.

Isa was the one to walk in front of the tapestry asking for somewhere to run controlled experiments, and what we walked into was a beautiful room. There was a fireplace burning in the corner to keep the cold and damp out, a series of tables with all manner of equipment running around the walls of the room, but it was the center that my eyes were drawn to. There was a low table with a few stools placed around it, as if the room knew that was what we were going to need—somewhere to place the book while the girls pointed their wands and cast the spells. Between the stools were some podiums, or music stands, for Isa and Hermione to place their notes, parchment, and quills to make more notes and keep track of the spells they had already cast.

For me though, I was just going to sit back and watch. I wasn't going to interfere unless they were in danger of hurting themselves.

I took a seat near the fireplace, far enough away to not be in the way, close enough to help, and pulled out some reading I was enjoying. Even though we had been researching monsters that could be inside the Chamber of Secrets, I had found there were so many more creatures out there than I had ever known or suspected. The amount of books the school library had on them was never ending, although I couldn't wait to get home and check out what Charlie had put in our library.

Isa and Hermione set up their equipment, placing their notebooks on the stands, the diary on the table, as well as a pot of ink. The pen of my mother was going to need more ink soon. Isa liked her ballpoint pens but loved using the pen I had given her; it was a present with history, specifically my history.

"Which one are we going to start with?" Hermione asked as she looked through the list they'd made.

Isa picked up her notebook and scanned her copy of the list. "I think we should just start at the top and work our way down."

"Okay then," Hermione agreed. "Do you want to go first?"

"No, you can. Test out that _Revealer_ that you ordered from Diagon Alley."

Hermione nodded before turning to her bag and pulling out what looked like a normal Muggle eraser, only larger and redder, before she leaned over the opened diary. I watched with undisguised interest to see if it would work. I was also interested in how it was going to work, if there was a special secret in how it worked.

Isa noticed my disappointment when all Hermione did was use it exactly the same as one would a normal eraser. She smirked when I looked away pretending I wasn't watching.

I heard Hermione sit back with a huff. "Well, that didn't work. Maybe it's not invisible ink?"

"Well, we can't rule it out completely just yet. Let me try this first." Isa pulled out her wand, double-checked the list on her page, and then pointed her wand at the diary. She did this complicated hand movement before saying, "Aparecium."

Isa and Hermione bent over the diary once her spell hit it, and I watched unabashedly through Isa's thoughts to see if anything happened. Unfortunately, once again, we were all disappointed, but that didn't stop the girls from looking over to their list and picking the next one.

For the next hour, they worked meticulously through their list of spells, charms, and objects they had ordered from Diagon Alley, through Floo2U, trying to get the diary to reveal all of its secrets. They'd cast one then sit and wait for a while to see if anything happened before moving on to the next.

By the time they'd finished the last one on their lists, Isa was up and pacing around frantically. I had stood, wanting to come over and comfort her, but she shook her head when she noticed me. Isa wanted to work on it herself, and she was using her pacing as a way of expending the disappointed energy and refocus her thoughts, even if she was getting closer and closer to bumping into the table with the diary and her ink placed precariously close to it.

Hermione was watching Isa, but we were both a little too slow to stop Isa from walking right into the table. Isa gasped when the inkbottle wobbled, and we watched like it was in slow motion as the bottle rocked around in a circle again and again and again before it seemed to start tipping over … right on top of the diary.

"Oh, no!" Hermione gasped, watching as the ink spread all over the two pages, which were open.

It created a large splotch that seemed to just sit there on top of the paper. But to our complete surprise, the ink just disappeared right into the pages! It was almost like it had never been there at all.

"It's not disappearing ink!" Isa almost shouted; she was so excited. "It's been hexed so that it actually keeps your secrets; it's a best friend you write to, and then it's erased."

"Oh, oh! It's a Memory Keeper!" Hermione finished.

"I can't believe we dismissed it. We thought it would have been too hard for a student to accomplish …"

"Well, when we put it together with what you found out about you-know-who …"

"Say it, Hermione. His name is Voldemort."

"I know, Bella. Why didn't we think he could make something like this?"

"Because he would have only been sixteen when he made this; it should be too advanced for someone of that age."

"But if he was already making Horcruxes by then, who's to say how advanced he was."

"If he was making Horcruxes at that age," I interrupted. "Now what are you two going on about? What is this thing?"

Isa looked up at me, and I knew in that moment she had found her passion in this world. Working with inanimate objects and making them useful for the wizarding world at large. Only I knew that she would be making them for the greater good, not for evil like Voldemort would have.

"This"—Isa pointed to the diary—"has been made into what we've affectionately called a Memory Keeper. It's something you can write your deepest, darkest secrets into, and it will keep them unless it's asked. The key, though, is how you ask it."

I looked at the seemingly benign diary. "And how do you ask it?" I sat down across from both girls as they crowded around the open pages.

"Like this." Isa picked up her pen, leaned over, and wrote a simple _**hello**_ on the page.

We watched as her ink disappeared into the page, and we waited. Suddenly, there was a _**Hello**_ written back.

Isa leaned over again. _**My name is Isabella and my friend here is Hermione.**_

 _ **My name is Tom,**_ came back, only for Isa to look sharply up at me.

"Careful, Isa, we don't know what this thing can do."

"I know." She leaned over again. _**We figured out this diary was written at Hogwarts around fifty years ago. What can you tell us about the Chamber of Secrets?**_

We waited and waited. The diary seemed to take a long time thinking about its answer, if it could think.

 _ **Nothing,**_ appeared, causing the girls to slump in their seats in disappointment _._ _ **But … I can show you.**_

As quick as the answer came, it disappeared again only to have a bright light appear from the center of the pages. The light quickly changed to a swirling vortex, and before I could get to the girls, the light vortex disappeared back into the book, taking Isa and Hermione with it.

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Okay, okay, let me hear what you've got to say. I've got my big girl underwear on!**

 **See you in a fortnight.**


	10. Chapter Nine - Finding the Truth

**Hello everyone! Welcome to another Friday. I hope you've all had a good fortnight.**

 **Thanks go to Pienuniek and Sally Hopkinson for all their hard work. None of this would be possible without either of them. It certainly wouldn't be as entertaining or readable, that's for sure.**

 **SM and JK Rowling own Twilight and Harry Potter, no copyright infringement is intended. I just like to play in their worlds with their characters.**

 **I'll stop my blabbing and let you find out what happened to Isa and Hermione. See me at the bottom!**

* * *

 **10 – Chapter Nine – Finding the Truth**

I froze. What could I do? My Isa and our sister were gone! I fell to my knees in shock but howled my pain so loud that I was surprised nobody heard me. Afterward, I was up off the floor and investigating the side of the table where the girls were frantically searching for any clue as to where they could have gone. Surely, my eyes had deceived me, and they weren't really sucked into the diary. I mean, how the hell was I going to get them back out?

I pointed at the diary, innocently sitting on the table. "You will give me back Isa and Hermione."

I don't know what I expected, but I became extremely mad when nothing appeared on its pages. It seemed I had forgotten in my rage that the diary only answered to written questions or statements. I picked up the diary, intent on tearing the thing apart, page by page, excruciatingly slowly so I could cause it as much pain as it was intent on showing me. If it wasn't going to give back Isa and Hermione with demands then I was going to _make_ it give them to me.

A little voice came to me from far away. _Teddy? Teddy?_ It wasn't until I heard a rather loud _EDWARD_ that I stopped and took notice.

"Isa?" I called, looking down at the diary in my hands.

 _Thank goodness. Are you okay?_

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? Are you and Hermione okay?"

 _Yes. But it seems we've been sucked into the diary. It literally wanted to show us the memory it has of the Chamber of Secrets._

"Do you think you can get back out?"

It was Hermione who answered this time. _I think it will let us out when it's shown us what it wants us to see._

 _Can you see through us?_ Isa asked.

"Yeah," I sighed. "Now that I'm concentrating on you, I can see what you see." I sat down, holding the diary because it was my only tangible link to the girls inside. When I relaxed further into the chair, I realized I hadn't felt the mate separation pain I should have felt if something had happened to Isa. I suddenly had a lot more sympathy and appreciation for what Isa went through the year before because if she had panicked like I had just done, then her reaction was completely justifiable. Didn't make me feel any better though.

 _Good,_ Isa said. _Because it's starting._

I closed my eyes to concentrate and watched as the scene around the girls lightened, so much so, that it was playing like an old black and white movie. It seemed these memories didn't record in color. The first thing I noticed was that the girls were in the castle, standing in the junction of the corridors near the first floor bathrooms. They were looking out over the stairs where I could see a young man standing, watching.

"Isa, baby," I whispered even though I knew I couldn't be heard. "Look around for me. What else is there?"

Isa's head swiveled left, admiring the castle. Hogwarts hadn't changed in the last fifty years. It was still the same beautiful castle it had always been. When her head turned to the right, she let out a gasp, and I swore.

"Sorry, girls."

 _No problem,_ they both replied. _It was a shocking sight,_ Isa finished.

Coming out of one of the bathrooms, I couldn't tell which from this angle, was a pair of teachers carrying a stretcher. On the stretcher was the body of a student covered in a white sheet. All the teachers were standing around with somber looks on their faces, including a younger version of Dumbledore. He had a hand over his heart with the most devastated look on his face until he turned and faced the young man on the stairs.

Dumbledore watched the young man in silence while he watched as the teachers walked down the stairs, around him, and then continued on down.

"Mr. Riddle, what are you doing out of bed?" Dumbledore called down the stairs. He looked suspicious, I guess is the right word, before a word had even left Tom's mouth.

 _Oh God, it's Voldemort,_ Isa thought.

I could see the calculating thoughts behind Riddle's eyes. He weighed every word carefully before he spoke. "I'm sorry, sir. I heard the rumors and had to come see for myself if they were true."

"I'm afraid they are," Dumbledore confirmed.

"About the school too? I don't have a home to go to; they won't really close Hogwarts will they, professor?"

"Yes. The school may very well have to close. Headmaster Dibbet has no choice. A girl has been murdered, and until that is sorted out …" Dumbledore let the end of his statement hang there.

 _He's so calculating,_ Hermione thought to herself while we watched the expression on Riddle's face. _There's definitely more there than people believed._

"If it all stopped. If the person causing it was caught, would the school stay open?"

We could see the suspicion mount on Dumbledore's face. He knew there was more to this than simple curiosity.

Riddle reminded me of the perpetrators in the muggle world who came back to see their handiwork. They stood in the crowd and watched the mayhem they had caused. He was a sadistic, twisted psycho.

Dumbledore interrupted my thoughts. "Is there something you wish to tell me, Mr. Riddle?"

Tom wasn't as accomplished a liar at sixteen, although I'm sure that changed when he got older, because he swallowed hard and his voice wobbled when he replied to Dumbledore's query. "No, sir."

 _Oh ho! That's a lie if I ever heard one,_ Isa exclaimed. _And Dumbledore saw right through it._

I chuckled at her thoughts. "He did, my sweet girl."

 _What?_ Hermione asked. _What did I miss?_

Hermione repeated her question out loud while Dumbledore and Riddle finished their conversation. Isa explained what she had thought as they followed Riddle through the castle. Up stairs and down, through long winding corridors, and even through a couple hidden passages. He checked behind him every few hundred meters; it seemed that he didn't want to be followed wherever he was going. Eventually, he led them to a door somewhere hidden within the castle. I was going to have to spend more time searching the place we called home for the better part of the year because there were so many places I wanted to explore.

The door was in the shape of an arch and completely made of wood. Riddle snuck up to it, continually looking over his shoulder, before reaching out and pulling on the door handle. It swung open—and as careful as Tom had been up to now—hit the pillar behind it with a loud bang causing the rather large and hairy student on the other side to jump and then spin around.

 _Is that Hagrid? He's so young._ Both girls asked when he came into view, and I had to admit I had the same reaction.

"Good evening, Hagrid," Riddle started out with a polite tone, almost too polite. "I'm going to have to turn you in. I don't think you expected it to kill anybody."

"You don't understand. He didn't do it!"

Tom stood with his wand aimed at Hagrid; it was almost like he expected him to attack him. "The dead girl's parents will be here in the morning. The least Hogwarts can do is give them peace of mind by telling them they've slaughtered the thing that killed her."

"Aragog would never. He hasn't hurt anyone!" Hagrid argued while taking place in front of a box that had closed when Tom had burst his way into the room.

"Monsters don't make good pets, Hagrid." There was the barest hint of a smirk on Riddle's face when he said that. "Now stand aside!"

 _Oh, he so did open the chamber. It had to have been him,_ Isa thought angrily. _He's going to put this on Hagrid and whatever_ thing _he has collected._

"No," Hagrid stood his ground.

"Stand aside, Hagrid!"

"NO!"

"Cistem Aperio!" A bright light shot out of Riddle's wand making the box Hagrid was guarding explode. All three of us held our breaths waiting to see what would come out of the box, Isa even wondering if it led to somewhere else because she didn't think it was big enough to house what we had discovered so far.

Everything was quiet for a split second, then Isa and I heard the scurrying of several feet as it scratched and fought to hold onto the slippery castle floor.

It was Isa who spoke first. _Did you hear that before?_

"No, never. Watch carefully, girls."

 _I missed something again, didn't I?_ Hermione wondered.

I was about to answer but something was making its way out of the pile of debris left over from Riddle's spell. It moved quickly, much quicker than I noted in the memories I had seen. It was small, black, and had way more legs than Isa was expecting because she squealed in disgust, jumping back about two feet.

Riddle was fast; he spun around, pointing his wand at the retreating creature and calling out, "Arania Exumai!" The first shot missed, as did the second and the third, before the creature made it out of the room and scrambled out of sight.

Nothing else was said between Hagrid and Riddle before the girls were pulled out of the diary and thrust back into the seats they had been sitting on before.

"Whoa, head rush," Hermione said while holding her head.

I sped over to Isa's side and pulled her onto my lap, holding her as tight as I dared. "I'm so glad you're okay," I whispered into her hair. "I can only just imagine what last year was like for you." I looked up at Hermione. "I'm glad you're okay too, Hermione."

"Thanks, Edward. So, what did we learn? Because I don't believe for one second that Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets."

Isa ran her hand through my hair and looked at Hermione. "No, there's no way that creature was the monster; it was way too small."

"And had too many legs. Right, sweet girl?"

Isa yanked on my hair. "Ha ha," she deadpanned.

"What was it?" Hermione asked.

"From what I saw, it was a bloody big spider. It had to have been the size of a basketball." Isa was nodding along with my description. "It was black, very hairy, and had legs that had to have been at least a ruler length already."

Hermione visibly shuddered. "So not the monster in the chamber, but a monster none the less," she paused, "but Hagrid didn't seem to think so." She shook her head. "He didn't open the chamber."

Isa and I both shook our heads while we all got lost in our own thoughts. We sat there for several minutes contemplating all that we had learned while the girls were in the diary.

Hermione was the one to break the silence. "Have you guys ever been in the trophy room?" We shook our heads in response to her question. "There's an award in there for services to the school for one Tom Riddle."

I groaned. "And I'll bet it's from about fifty years ago, right?"

Hermione nodded.

"Well, I guess that means we have two conversations that need to happen. One with everyone else"—I waved my hand at the diary—"and one with our headmaster."

Isa sighed and climbed off my lap. "Looks like our weekend just got a whole lot busier."

~*~UHS~*~

The noise level in the Room of Requirement the next morning was unbelievable. We'd pulled together all our friends and explained what we had seen through the diary.

We had decided to forgo telling them who Riddle was for the time being. School was not the time or place for revealing all that we knew. Isa and I decided we would also be bringing Malfoy into our group come the summertime; our friends needed to know, and he needed to know everything.

The twins and Neville were convinced that what Hermione, Isa, and I had seen in the diary was the truth; well, they were arguing that, but their thoughts were unconvinced however. They didn't want to see our friend thrown into Azkaban.

Hermione and Isa were just as loud trying to convince them that we couldn't trust just the word of Tom Riddle, a virtual stranger, above the word of our friend. One we hadn't even talked to yet. Me? I was just sitting there. I didn't believe Hagrid was responsible, but I think he knew more than he was letting on, and until we approached him about it, I wouldn't know either way.

"But Riddle was served with an award!" Fred yelled. "If that doesn't tell you something then what does?"

The debate started off again, and I let it continue until I couldn't stand the volume anymore. Either out loud or in their heads.

"Enough!" I growled, grabbing my head. "All of this isn't any good until we've spoken to all involved."

Isa rushed over and knelt in front of me. "Teddy, you okay?"

"I'm fine. It was just loud in here." I looked up from my hands to see Isa's worried face. She was frowning in my direction. I touched her cheek with my finger; it amazed me how much she had changed in the last eighteen months, her physical changes the most prominent. She'd shot up several inches while her hair had grown longer. With her growth spurt, Isa had thinned out a little, losing some of the roundness to her face and shape. Her mental ones were less so because she'd already been a young adult when we met, but her thought processes had firmed up, showing that she thought more logically than childlike. I loved each change, and I was in awe that I was there to witness them. "I promise I'm okay." I tapped my temple before dropping my voice to vampire pitch. "Mix loud voices with loud thoughts and I can get the feeling of a headache."

"Good. But you're right; we don't have all the facts, just the memories of someone who may or may not know the entire truth. He may not even be telling the truth."

That stopped all thoughts about arguing because they hadn't thought of that. The wizarding world was very sheltered, and they had always believed what they'd read or been told growing up.

"This is a lesson for you. Out in the muggle world, you can't always believe what you've read or been told. With the threat of Voldemort coming back, you need to take everything with a giant grain of salt, and investigate to confirm the facts."

Neville, Fred, and George pondered that for a moment while Isa and Hermione picked up the diary to hide it in Isa's trunk. We thought that might be the safest place for it.

"So what's the next step then?" Neville asked.

"The next steps are for Isa and me to talk to Dumbledore before enjoying the Quidditch match. Then after the match, we'll see about talking to Hagrid," I told them. "You guys focus on what's going on in school."

George stood and pointed at me. "Why do you get to take control? Why can't we help you?"

I stood to match him, realizing for the first time that I was taller than them. I had never paid much attention to that before. "You may not think so, but every time I talk to you, or you give ideas, you guys are helping me. Every time we do research and you throw yourselves into it, you're helping me. Talking to Dumbledore is something I do because he has asked me to keep him in the loop, to keep an eye on Harry. You all help me do that. Don't ever think that you aren't," I stated emphatically. "Other than that, I'm an adult, the only one in this room. You're above me in magical learning, but don't forget that I have over a hundred years on any of you. I will protect you to the best of my ability, even if that means leaving you out of it."

Neville looked on nervously when Fred jumped up to defend them. I knew what he was thinking of saying, and I thought it best that Isa handled what was coming next.

"Leave us out of it?" Fred threw his hands up in the air. "How is that fair? Just because you are perceived as older. And how can you use that excuse? Bella's in the middle of it, and she's younger than us! Yet you let her go with you! We should be told everything; we should have been told from the beginning because, no matter what anyone thinks, we're all in this!"

There was a swirl of magic that flew through the air when they accused me of just including Isa and not them. The twins either didn't notice or didn't want to notice because they had continued on with their rant of being included. Hermione and Neville noticed, however, and had also noticed that Isa had stood stiffly from picking up the diary. With the realization that Isa was going to teach the twins some form of lesson, they slowly started moving away from the center of the room. I just leaned back into my chair, smirking a little.

The more Fred and George carried on while they were pacing, talking over each other and generally paying attention only to themselves, the straighter Isa stood. And as she stood taller, the more magic whirled and swirled around us. I could tell this time though that Isa had it under control; it wasn't flinging things all over the place. She was calmly making it swirl, but the look on her face was fierce.

My little girl was growing up.

"You get them, Isa. Show them what you're made of."

Isa turned slightly to look at me, throwing a wink over her shoulder. I was startled at first because her eyes, her beautiful brown eyes, were gone, and in their place were completely white eyes. They glowed from the inside out. It concerned me until her soft, melodic voice rang out in my head.

 _I know it's disconcerting, Edward. But I knew this would happen; I'd seen it with my mother. I know that last summer we did some basic research into my kind, but this summer, I want to go more in depth. I want to know more. But, please, don't worry; my eyes will return to normal._

I nodded, letting her know I'd heard her, before she turned back to the Weasley twins. And if I admitted it to myself, they were stunning in their own way.

"You want to know why Edward _let_ me go with him even though I'm so much younger than you?" Isa asked in a voice that was hypnotic, even to me. Hermione and Neville stopped their backward movement and just sat where they were. Fred and George spun to find Isa facing them with hands on her hips, commanding their full attention, which they gave with a terrified look in their eyes.

"He doesn't _let_ me do anything!" she exploded, her hands flinging out, causing the swirling magic in the room to be directed right at Fred and George. I panicked, thinking they had been hurt when she flung them backward. I made to stand but realized Isa hadn't hurt them; she'd just forced them to sit back in their seats and held them there with the force of it. It seemed that even though her magic had burst out in an unstoppable wave, she had it under her complete control. I had a feeling Isa would figure out how to use wandless magic long before the rest of us. After seeing this display, I wondered why she was using her wand at all.

"I don't know why you're kicking up such a fuss about wanting to be in the thick of it!" Isa exclaimed. "For as long as I've known you, you've always stayed in the background. I mean, isn't that how your little pranks work. You plant the prank, then sit back and watch?"

Fred opened his mouth to interrupt her, but Isa held up her hand and snapped her thumb and fingers together. With the motion, Fred's mouth slammed shut, rattling his teeth. From what I read in his mind, he had no control over it. Isa had them under her complete control.

I watched as Isa paced a little before standing over Fred and George, forcing them to lean back in their chairs. "I don't appreciate being spoken about like I'm not in the room. I don't appreciate that you insinuated I can't make decisions for myself, and most of all, I really don't appreciate that you think we'd leave you out of anything!

"Dumbledore asked us, as in Edward and I, to do what we could to find out what was going on. Then he asked us to keep it to ourselves, but we involved all of you. We've broken his confidence by doing just that and asking all of you to help, even just the research. If you prefer, next time, we can do it on our own and leave you out of it completely!" Both of the twin's mouths dropped open with that statement, but Isa left them hanging like that. "You should be grateful we did that much, or you'd be as blind as the rest of the staff and students."

Isa spun, looking directly at me with those white eyes, giving me another look at the stunning amount of power she held in her lithe little body. "When Dumbledore gives us permission, or when we think it's the right time, we will bring you into it completely and let you two join us front and center. For right now, you are _our_ secret force. The minds and power that we fall back on when we can't figure it out or do it on our own." She picked up the diary that had been put back on the table. "I honestly thought you'd preferred it that way, Misters Weasley."

With that, the power drained from her eyes, returning them to the beautiful shade of brown I loved. I held my hand out to her, which beckoned her to my side when I stood. "You were beautiful, stunning, and completely in control. I have never been more proud to have you as my mate." I kissed the top of her head, and when I stood up straight again, she was smiling softly at me.

"Thank you, Teddy." She turned to Hermione. "Are you coming, Hermione? We need to hide this before heading down to dinner."

I turned to watch Hermione shake her head and stand before walking over to Isa and me. "Yup. Let's go; I'm starving."

Neville looked up with a befuddled expression on his face. His mind ran around and around. _How did she do that? I want to do that. But for Merlin's sake, how did she do that?_ He grabbed his things and said, "I'll see you guys at dinner." He walked out, feeling more than a little inferior.

I sat down in front of Fred and George, just looking at them. They hadn't thought a lot since Isa called them out on their ridiculous behavior. "I think you guys need to remember that Isa and I are, so far, the only true immortals in this game. All of you can and would be hurt or killed when it comes to fighting something like this monster in the chamber. We only want you safe, nothing more. Have a think about it, guys. I'm off for dinner."

~*~UHS~*~

The next morning, I was out of the Common Room early; I wanted to talk to Dumbledore before the Quidditch match. Everything had been silent all night. The twins had taken all that we'd talked about to heart and thought hard, even if they didn't talk to us except to say goodnight.

Isa and Hermione had managed to find out that Aragog, the spider from the diary, was an acromantula, a species of spider that, as in all spiders, did not grow a tail. In the diary, he had to have been about the size of a large Pekingese, and from their research, could grow to the size of a small elephant. Which would come close to the size of the monster that I'd read from the memories, if he had a tail. If Aragog had survived, I didn't like to think about how massive he could be. I'm not sure I wanted to find out.

"Come in, Edward," Dumbledore called when I knocked on his door.

I stuck my head in before walking through the door. "How did you know it was me?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "There'd only be one person who would come to see me just as the sun was rising. What can I do for you?"

"Well …" I took a seat in front of his desk and shared with him everything we had discovered about the diary and what was, or rather wasn't, within its pages. What I didn't tell him, however, was that Isa and I'd had help. I knew Dumbledore wasn't being completely honest with me about his intentions for the war and for Harry; there was more to it, so I held back. "Please tell me you didn't believe a word Riddle told the school?"

"No, I didn't." Dumbledore sighed. "But, unfortunately, when the attacks stopped, almost immediately, everyone else did, especially the Headmaster at the time."

"That's why he was given an award. Didn't anybody question the fact that they stopped because he told them he'd gotten rid of the monster?"

"I'm not the mind reader, Edward. They believed what they wanted too. I had no say in the matter. And because of that, someone had to be punished; Hagrid took the fall and was expelled from school. I didn't know until much later that Riddle was an heir of Slytherin, or I would have made that public knowledge."

I thought about that for a while. "As far as you know, Riddle has had no children?"

"There is no one in the school related to him, Edward. I don't know how this has happened, but it can't be him."

I stood to go down for breakfast. I wasn't sure that I believed him; I was almost positive Voldemort had found a way to open the Chamber of Secrets. We just had to find out how.

~*~UHS~*~

 _What happened with Dumbledore?_ Isa asked me the minute I'd parked my butt next to her at breakfast.

I shrugged. It was the best answer I could give with all the ears around us because, even if I spoke at vampire pitch, the others would see I was talking. They were all paying close attention to me.

Isa nodded, like she expected as much. _So he didn't give you much. And it was the same old, same old. Did he believe Riddle about Hagrid?_

I leaned over to give Isa a morning kiss on the top of her head, shaking mine slightly so she knew I was answering her question. _Well, that's a good thing, I suppose. The worst part is that we have to wait and see what happens next. I pray no more of our friends are targeted._

"Me too, sweet girl, me too," I murmured into her scalp before sitting back and gathering some breakfast.

"What was that all about?" Hermione pointed at Isa and me.

"Nothing," Isa murmured. "Teddy was gone before I got up this morning, so I didn't get my morning kiss."

Hermione looked skeptical for a moment before she shrugged and let it go.

"Didn't you girls bring any of your Gryffindor cheer things with you this morning?"

The boys sitting across from us snickered at my question before they burst into laughter. I was confused for a minute before I finally got an answer from Neville's mind.

"You girls slept in, really?" They both blushed a bright red as they looked at the table. "Guess you'll have to run up there after breakfast and grab them then." I saw out of the corner of my eye Ginny get up from the table, leaving her food half-eaten. The thing that concerned me was, no matter what we had done, her disposition hadn't improved any. Ginny was still withdrawn, losing weight, and most of the time, I couldn't hear a damn word from her. It was almost like she'd closed her mind with Occlumency, but I knew she hadn't mastered that talent yet.

"We will"—Isa sighed, bringing me back to the conversation—"as soon as we're done eating. Who do you think will win today? This year has been close, even with Slytherin having new brooms."

Cormac McLaggen, the reserve seeker for Gryffindor, snorted when he stood. "We're going to win, of course." He placed his hand on his heart. "I'm a much better seeker than Mike Newtonian," he gloated before a sly look came across his face, "or should I say Harry Potter?" As an afterthought he added, "Or don't you believe in us?"

Hermione pointed at him. "Them, yes. You, not so much." We all cracked up because Hermione had really loosened up since moving in with us. Her sense of humor had become well developed thanks to Jasper and Emmett.

McLaggen stormed off with the rest of the team following behind on Wood's command to get ready down at the pitch while the rest of us finished eating our breakfasts. We were just walking out of the Great Hall when Kreacher popped in in front of us. The look on his face said it wasn't a social call.

"Miss Bella, Miss Bella! You must come quick! There's a problem with your things in the tower!"

Isa bobbed down in front of him. "Calm down, Kreacher. What's going on?"

"Something has happened; you must come see!" I watched as if in slow motion as Kreacher reached up to grab her hand. Before I could react, he'd already clicked his fingers, and they were gone.

I looked around to see that it was only Hermione, Neville, and myself left. I was about to ask if the others had seen what I had seen when I heard Isa yell out for me in panic. _Teddy! Teddy, please come. Someone has trashed all my things. They're everywhere!_

She was in such a panic that I couldn't make out anything else, nor could I see through her thoughts. Her Occlumency must have slipped a little.

I bobbed down in front of Neville. "Quick, Neville. Hop on; I'll carry Hermione up."

"No. I'll go down and warn the others at the pitch. Take Hermione, but what's going on?"

Hermione scrambled onto my back while I explained. "Stay there. We'll fill you in some more when we find out what's going on."

Neville nodded before running out of the Great Hall. I took off up the moving staircases, hanging onto Hermione whenever I needed to because I was jerking her all over the place. I wasn't as smooth as I normally was. I blurted out the password for the fat lady when I was halfway up the last staircase, ensuring that the portrait was open when I got there. I ducked but jumped over the knee knocker before I stopped dead in front of the staircase up to the dorms. I couldn't go that way.

"Hermione, can you hang on by yourself for just a little bit longer?"

"Yup. Do what you have to do."

I spun back to the wall that led to the upper hallway, took a running leap, and then scrambled up the rest of it as fast as possible. I placed Hermione on the floor, helping to steady her before we made our way to the door of their dorms, but we stopped in our tracks when we saw the inside. Isa hadn't been kidding. Everything from her trunk, her bedding, and all her clothes were strewn everywhere. Some things were torn, others were stained from ink, and pages were scrunched, ripped, and shredded.

"Who would do this?" Hermione asked, walking in the door to help start picking things up. Kreacher had already started while Isa seemed to be searching for something.

"Whoever it was, they were looking for something. And it seems as if they found it," Isa stated grumpily, sitting back on her heels and crossing her arms. "The diary's gone."

~*~UHS~*~

We never made it down for the Quidditch match. We spent that time searching through all of Isa's things. Most of Isa's school things were okay; she would only need a couple white school shirts and some replacement parchment and ink.

Once we'd finished sorting them into piles, Hermione took a good look around. "You know, most of these things can be repaired."

Isa and I looked at her in confusion.

"Don't tell me you haven't read the books with all the basic spells in them because I know you have. Have you never once tried to use them?" We both shook our heads. "Look, watch this …" Hermione laid out one of Isa's books in which the pages sat slightly askew; she retrieved her wand from a pocket in her robes and pointed it toward the book. Hermione waved the wand in the shape of a backward six as she called out, "Reparo."

I watched in amazement when the book flipped open only for the thread holding the pages to the spine unthread. The pages all flipped through, sorted themselves into order, and then straightened up before putting themselves back into the cover. The thread then sewed the book back together, only to be better than before!

I laughed. "I really do love magic. And I completely forgot we'd learned that earlier. Why is it the simple spells are the ones we forget?"

"It's probably because we're cramming our heads so full of the more complex ones that they get delegated to the back of our brains." Hermione paused. "I think that as we get stronger, we might be able to put the whole room to rights all at once."

Isa nodded. "But for now, this is a great learning opportunity." Isa laid out a top that had been torn in the frenzy the person searching for the diary had caused. There were no pieces missing so it should be a simple spell. Isa pointed her wand at the shirt and mimicked Hermione's wand movements. "Reparo." Again, I watched in amazement. The threads that were stringy from being torn reached out toward each other and started to knit back together. Where the pieces of fabric were further apart, they slid closer together before they started knitting together. Magic simply took my breath away.

After I had my turn on another piece of Isa's clothes, we separated what was left into piles before sitting down and repairing what we could. We sat in silence, apart from the murmur of our voices calling out the spell.

I was contemplating what had happened when something occurred to me. "Isa, has Ginny been in your dorm room at all in the last few days?"

Isa thought about it thoroughly, going through every memory she had of the last few days. "No," she replied quietly. "Why?"

"Because I can smell her. Her scent is everywhere in this room." I held the shirt I had in my hand to my nose and took a deep breath. The most prominent scent on it _was_ Isa _but_ there was a trace of Ginny on the collar. "She's touched this."

Isa and Hermione both froze. The implications of what they thought I was saying was huge.

"Anything else, Edward?" Hermione asked quietly.

I quickly made my way through all the piles we had left around the room, and a quick look through what we had levitated back into her trunk revealed exactly what we were all thinking. I looked up at Isa. I'm sure the look on my face said it all.

"Everything?" Isa whispered.

"Everything that was thrown all over the place."

Hermione asked the next question. "What is she doing?"

"That's the million dollar question."

~*~UHS~*~

By the time the others had made it back to the Common Room, we'd put the girls' dorm back to rights and written a letter home to Esme that Saffy was on her way to deliver. The little owl was so happy she was delivering a letter home that she'd almost taken off before holding onto it properly. Saffy had gotten the first real smile out of my girl since Kreacher had popped her into the dorm rooms.

While we cleaned, we spoke about what to tell the others. Neville was the only one who knew anything. I'd heard his "voice" as he came up the stairs; he was telling me that he hadn't told the twins anything because he wasn't sure what we wanted to do. As it was, Neville only knew that something had happened, not what.

"After earlier, is it worth keeping Fred and George in the loop?" Hermione asked. "I mean, they were so upset about being kept in the background, could we trust them to stay there?"

"I hate not telling you what we know, though," Isa had murmured. "I can see that you understand we know more than we've let on." Isa pointed at Hermione with that comment, causing the girl in question to nod. "Doesn't that upset you?"

Hermione shook her head. "If it was important or we were in mortal peril then I'm sure you'd tell us what you knew. If you want to tell me, you can."

Isa looked up at me, and I could see in the depths of her beautiful eyes how much keeping things from our friends—or at least Hermione—was weighing her down. "Maybe over the summer," I whispered so only she would hear. I smiled, seeing hers light up her face. "That's if you have time between all those experiments you have going on up there!"

Isa's beautiful laugh sounded out through the dorm, making me smile again. I really did love when I was able to elicit that sound from her. When she'd finished laughing, she voiced the thought racing around her mind. "So, what do we tell the others?"

I listened as the twins and Neville made their way into the Common Room. "Well, Neville hasn't told them anything, just that there was an emergency. He deserves the truth. But if you feel bad about it, we should tell all of them."

"What are their thoughts after what happened yesterday?" Hermione asked.

I shrugged. "As of last night, they were sorry for their outburst, but they still think they were entitled to know everything. They have the opposite thoughts from you, Hermione. They might be right, even though we were just doing what Dumbledore wanted us to do."

 _Maybe that's the problem,_ Isa thought sullenly. _Instead of relying on those he trusts, he's putting that on two 'children,' essentially._ She looked up at me. _Sorry, Teddy, but it's true._ I nodded to her. _Maybe we should rely on our friends and family. The more we have helping us, the better._

I nodded again in agreement. While Professor Dumbledore was a great man, and probably a great wizard, why was he not trusting any of the adult wizards with what we were doing? What was he doing?

"You're right, sweet girl. The more the others know what's going on, the more informed we are going to be. Everyone in the family can help us." I looked to Hermione. "For now, we tell our group what's going on. At some point over the summer, we'll tell all that we know."

"And that includes everyone, Edward," Isa said with authority. _Especially those the others don't know about._ She showed me a picture of Draco in her mind. _They_ all _deserve to know._

"Yup." I nodded. That wasn't a conversation I was looking forward to.

~*~UHS~*~

The icy tension that came at us from the Common Room, when we stepped inside, was colder than standing naked in a blizzard. It took me a moment before I could find the source, but eventually, I realized that every single person in the room was giving our illustrious new seeker the cold shoulder.

Isa and Hermione stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "Whoa," they both said. I don't think I could ever remember a time the Common Room was this quiet. "What the hell happened?" Isa asked.

The whole Gryffindor quidditch team snorted then started ranting, all at once. The three of us stood in stunned silence; when the ranting of the team wasn't enough, those in the Common Room started as well. I let it go for as long as I could, trying to figure out what was going on, but couldn't because of the noise level both inside their minds and inside the room was outrageous. I could sense Isa wincing when it rose again; it was that which had me doing what I did next.

Instead of growling and scaring the shit out of them, I decided to use something else in my arsenal and let out a loud wolf whistle. Everyone and every thought in the room froze; it was utterly silent, well except for Isa, who placed her finger in her ear and gave it a wiggle.

 _That was noisy, Teddy._ Isa opened her mouth, stretching her jaw. _Almost as loud as when you let out your biggest growl._

"Sorry, sweet girl. It was just a bit loud in here."

 _No problems._ "Now, what the hell is going on?"

Everyone started to talk to her all at once; well, that was until she held up her hands, asking for quiet, yet again.

"Since I can't get a straight answer out of all of you, I'll ask one of you. Neville, please tell me what the hell is going on."

All those who had stood up in their anger had plopped back down into their seats, most with crossed arms and a huff. But at least, they were quiet, both in voice and thought. What I could gather, though, was that beside the fact it was about McLaggen, it also involved the snitch and the latest quidditch match, which we had lost. I figured we were just about to find out how.

Neville stood, throwing up his hands, and in a previously undisplayed bout of anger, he glared at McLaggen before looking back at Isa. "We lost the quidditch match all because of this imbecile right here," Neville pointed at the seeker. "The one who thinks he's _sooo_ much better than Mike Newtonian let the game go to the Hufflepuffs because he was too busy playing sidewalk auror; he couldn't find the snitch!"

Isa frowned, as did Hermione, but it was starting to become clear, to me at least, what had happened.

"That's not unusual, Neville. The snitch is really hard to see."

Again, Neville threw his arms into the air. "Not when it's hovering right by his foot! We all"—he swung his arms out and spun around in a circle indicating everyone else—"could see it from the stands, and he was just there in his own little world until Hufflepuff's seeker came barreling toward him and snatched it. Right. From. Next. To. His. Foot!"

Isa's and Hermione's mouths dropped open in shock before they both groaned and dropped their heads into their hands. The actions made me smile because the girls really were becoming like sisters, twins almost, and it was beautiful to see.

"Oh, McLaggen, for all your posturing, you really are just useless," Hermione sighed. "I can't wait until Mike is back."

That was, apparently, all Cormac could stand because he flew up from the chair he was sitting in, and he charged straight at the girls. I moved before he could even comprehend what was happening and had him in a headlock. His thoughts hadn't been kind; in fact, they were something along the lines of what the Slytherin's thought on occasion. He gasped when he felt my cold arms wrap around his neck, tipping him backward, and then froze completely when he felt my breath at his ear.

"I wouldn't if I were you …" I whispered menacingly. "That is my mate and my sister you were aiming for." It was so quiet in the Common Room everyone could hear me and the tight control I had on the anger in my voice. All the ones closest to us managed to back up a few steps. "You saw last year what Isa could do to someone who threatened our bond, and that was before her magic grew in strength. Imagine what a vampire over a hundred years old would do to protect his mate?" I growled softly in his ear.

McLaggen was so scared that he almost relieved his bladder. I let him go before that could happen. He fled the room so fast people would have believed that his ass was on fire had they not seen what happened.

I was so wound up that I couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on around me. I was seeing red, at least until a gentle humming permeated my brain. Once again, I felt myself being moved and then seated. I didn't become aware of myself until a beautiful, warm girl landed on my lap. One I knew, one I could never hurt or ignore no matter how lost I was.

"Edward, come back to me. Everything's okay now; the threat is gone."

I blinked a few times before my vision cleared completely. When it did, I found myself looking into the stunning eyes of my beautiful girl. I leaned in and kissed her forehead softly before I looked around the room. There were a few boys sitting in chairs looking doped up with those ridiculous smiles on their faces, which told me that Isa had used her singing voice again.

"What happened?"

Isa sighed, running her fingers through my hair. "You couldn't calm down after McLaggen ran out of here. Whatever he was thinking had to have been bad. So I just hummed a little. It seemed to calm you and the few who were in your vicinity." She waved her hand in the direction of the drooling boys. "The others were wary of your … shall we say … intensity and decided it would be best to head to the dorms or the library or wherever."

I grimaced. "Oops. For someone in Gryffindor, his thoughts were surprisingly vile."

"Doesn't matter. Let's hope he's smart enough to stay away from us. Shall we head out to our place and fill the others in? Hermione already took them there."

I stood, holding onto Isa but placing her on my back. "Let's go, sweet girl."

~*~UHS~*~

"Nuh uh, no way. There is absolutely no way!" Fred and George said together. "Ginny would never do what you're describing."

Isa frowned from her spot on my lap. "Are you calling us liars?"

We watched as they both stopped short of doing just that. Fred opened and closed his mouth a few times, but it was George who answered, first shaking his head. "No … yes … maybe?" It came out like a question. "I've never known Ginny to even break a rule; she was always such a good girl. If what you're saying is true, why? Why would she do this?"

 _If_ , Isa snorted internally. _We have no reason to lie. I've never lied to them before._

I leaned forward and kissed the spot above her ear. "I know, Isa, but Ginny is their little sister, and it's understandable that they'd want to protect her. I know that if it was Rose, Alice, or even Hermione, I'd probably do the same."

"I think she's under the influence of something else," Hermione murmured. "It's possible the diary is controlling her …" She trailed off, causing Isa's and my head to snap around to her.

"You think that's possible?" Neville asked.

Hermione looked over at us before facing the boys again. "I think it's entirely possible. Magic can be used for both good and evil. Bewitching something isn't as hard as we think it is. And I think the only reason it didn't do anything to Isa and me is because she was with me. Had it just been me, it could have turned out very differently."

"So what do we do?" Fred and George asked.

Isa stood and made her way to the door of the Room of Requirement. "We try to help," she said in a tone that meant "duh."

So for the next week, that's exactly what we did. Every opportunity we had, we took, trying to get through to Ginny; although, the more attention we paid to her, the more she pulled away. It didn't stop us, though, because I could sense a change in her thoughts. To me, when I listened, I heard her mind fighting back against the dark cloud that she seemed to be under, and I knew, given enough time, Ginny would eventually tell us what was going on and let us help her.

We'd managed to get her to come and sit with us during a quiet study session in the library on one particular day. It was one of the only times our class schedules meshed with a study break with the younger class. I was scanning the thoughts around the school, enjoying one of the many times there wasn't something sinister going on. Although, I rolled my eyes listening to Lockhart. It didn't matter what he was doing, his thoughts were always centered on himself. He really made me sick.

I listened out for Emmett; he was enjoying learning all about how to look after the mythical creatures of the world. In fact, he was enjoying it so much that he'd even started reading again. Dumbledore had loaned him some books from the school library, and Hagrid had given him some titles that he could go out and buy. I could hear that Emmett was wondering if it was possible to build a sanctuary for creatures, similar to a zoo or safari, where he could care for them. I heard him snort before a thought crossed his mind. _Especially if Bella keeps bringing them home with her. We're going to need somewhere to put all of them._

I chuckled quietly at that thought because he was right.

Jasper was in his office going over the assignments he'd had handed in this week. He was thoroughly enjoying his position as the History of Magic professor. He'd never felt more fulfilled than he did right now. The kids who were in his classes were learning so much more, and not of just the far distant past, but also of the more recent. He'd been successful with not only Dumbledore but the Wizengamot about teaching more of the recent history of the wizarding world because it seemed that Professor Binns had taught only what he had known. He hadn't taught anything that had occurred after his death some several hundred years ago. The only thing they banned was anything to do with Voldemort. They really wanted to keep that under wraps; another thing that would eventually come out, of that I had no doubt.

While the five of us had filled the role of Esme's children for decades, with Isa and Hermione filling that space a little bit more, there was still a piece of Esme that had seemed to be missing or empty. It seemed, though, that Esme was made to be a teacher. She could interact with and help children on a level we didn't need anymore, even Isa and Hermione. We were all self-sufficient, but these children needed her, and Esme was really flourishing. Her mind was such a happy place to be.

The kids who had grown up in the magical world never knew how things were done in the muggle world. There was so much more to living when you didn't have magic to do everything for you. Sure, magic saved time, but there was always a sense of accomplishment when you did something for yourself.

I had pulled out of Esme's mind and started to concentrate back on the homework for Dumbledore. He had given us some work to do on the different species of spiders known in the magical world and what they were capable of doing.

 _This is disgusting. Why did it have to be spiders? I hate spiders!_ I chuckled under my breath at Isa's whining. _Shut up, Teddy!_ She laughed in her head. _I can't help it!_

I laughed again, a little louder this time. "I know, sweet girl. A lot of girls don't like them, even Esme."

 _Really?_

"Yup."

 _Huh._

We were quiet then for a while, just studying. I let my mind wander around to all the minds around me, not really monitoring but listening all the same.

Now, hearing someone swear in their thoughts is not uncommon, but the reason this _oh shit_ caught my attention was because _Esme_ was the one who thought it, and that never happened.

My head snapped up and around to the direction of the house Esme taught in. And when I caught the tenor of her thoughts, my mouth dropped open. I couldn't believe what was happening.

"Teddy, what is it? What's going on?"

I smirked before I laughed. Jumping up from the table, I grabbed Isa's hand. "Come quick, all of you. You don't want to miss this!"

"But what about our stuff?" Isa asked with a giggle, leaving the table with me.

"Leave it! This is going to be far more interesting!"

The rest of our friends were confused but got up to follow me anyway. They wanted to know what I found so amusing. I pulled Isa out of the library, almost as fast as she could run, down the stairs, and out through the foyer and the huge front door.

Isa's thoughts became confused when she saw the direction I was pulling her, but instead of voicing them, she decided to wait and see. She was enjoying this light version of me and didn't want it to end. Her thoughts almost pulled me to a stop because I hadn't realized this year had pulled the brooding Edward back. I was going to make a concerted effort to change that.

We all came to a stop just before we reached Esme's classroom because there was a loud unholy crack and a screech of wood and metal stretching and pulling apart.

"What was that?" Fred and George asked, but before I could answer, there was another massive crack when the roof exploded outward with boards, nails, and tiles flying everywhere.

We all had to duck and run along with many other students screaming in fear only to spin back around when the front door opened, and Esme came running out. "Oh, dear God. How did this happen? No magic wands are allowed in my classroom. This should not have happened!"

I chuckled as the mouths of all the students who had gathered on the lawn dropped open. For there, coming out of the hole in the roof, was one of Esme's older students. He had somehow been blown up to the size of a small hot air balloon and was currently attempting to float away!

I cracked up. It was one of the funniest things I had ever seen, and it wasn't long before the rest of our group started laughing too.

"Edward! Stop laughing. This isn't funny!" Esme was attempting to scold me, but the fear in her voice was making it hard. "I don't know what to do or how it even happened."

Her fear and worry stopped me. I didn't like it when the women I loved were upset in anyway. I spun to Isa, grabbing her lightly on her shoulders to get her attention. "I need you to go and get one of the first teachers you find and bring them here."

Isa nodded, taking note of the seriousness of my voice. "On it." She ran back toward the castle, much faster than humans, something else that made her like us. In fact, we had more in common, as different species, than I ever imagined. The books we had read over the summer about her were interesting and helped a great deal when she had bouts of her instincts taking over.

I turned back to look at the student, who still seemed to be trying to get out of the classroom. I couldn't figure out why he hadn't, at first, but realized he was still expanding.

"Fred, George!" Their heads snapped in my direction. "Can you make some ropes for me please? We have to keep him from floating away!"

"On it, Edward!" They whipped out their wands while I ran headlong at Esme's classroom and climbed up the side of it as quickly as I could. Once there, I listened to his thoughts and found out what his name was.

"Joshua, can you hear me?"

"Yes," a little voice sniffled.

"My name's Edward, and I'm one of Professor Cullen's children. I'm going to stop you from floating away, okay?"

"T-t-thank you." He was silent for a beat before he wailed, "I don't know what happened!"

"Shhh," I crooned to the older boy while I inspected the damage done to not only the classroom but to him as well. I couldn't smell any blood, so that was a good thing, but that didn't mean he was without injury. "Everything is going to be okay; I promise." I watched Fred and George come closer with the ropes they had made and saw Hermione pointing to the fencing that Jasper and Emmett had placed around the little house, telling them to tie one end there. I was about to start ripping parts of the roof up when Emmett and Jasper landed on the roof with me. "Okay, Joshua, Professor Whitlock and Emmett are here to help me get you out without you floating off, all right?"

"Yes, s-s-sir," he stuttered.

 _I'll keep him calm while we do this …_ Jasper trailed off in his thoughts before spreading that around. I reached down to George when he threw a loose rope up to me with Hermione, Neville, and Fred hanging onto the other end. I looped the rope around the ankle that was sticking out of the gap in the roof.

Looking toward the castle, I saw Isa coming back with the first teacher she could find, Professor Lockhart, and she was fuming!

 _I can't believe he wouldn't let me go and get someone else! This is going to go all kinds of wrong, and this child isn't going to know what hit him._ She looked at me. _I'll slip away when everyone else is distracted and get someone else._ I nodded in response to her thoughts.

"All right, guys, are you ready?" I called down to the others.

"Ready!"

"As fast as we can," I said to Emmett and Jasper. "We don't want to cause him any more pain than necessary. Try holding him in there until we get a big enough hole. Watch out below!"

They nodded and set to work with me as quickly as possible, pulling roof tiles and moving the beams that were in the way. We threw things aside without any preamble because, at least, we would be able to use the Reparo spell to put it all back later. After several minutes of careful removal and holding Joshua still, we managed to maneuver him out without any cuts or abrasions.

I pointed at the others. "You two get down there and give them a hand. I don't know if Joshua will take them with him, if we let go."

"What are you going to do?" Jasper asked.

"I have a hole and roof to fix."

Emmett opened his mouth to ask but thought better of it, then jumped down after Jasper to grab hold of the rope. I let Joshua go, only to see that he would have floated away quite quickly, and had it not been for the combined weight of the vampires, he probably would have taken my friends with him. I made note that Isa had disappeared back into the castle and that her thoughts were running all over with her as she tried to find a different teacher.

 _Why is it that when I want someone, the only one I could find was stupid Lockhart and his over-inflated ego!_ She came to a sudden stop before rolling her eyes. "Kreacher, I need your help!"

While the others pulled poor Joshua down to a normal height, I turned back to Esme's classroom. Her thoughts were worried that she would have to wait for someone to come repair it before she could get back in there and teach. I smiled at her before I pulled out my wand.

Making the movements, I pointed the wand at the building then issued the command to go with it, "Reparo!" before jumping off the roof. What I hadn't taken into effect was the fact that everything was everywhere, and when I cast the spell, everything flew up from where it landed. "Sorry!" I called.

"Edward, help!" Jasper yelled. "We have a runaway!"

One of the pieces of debris had flown from behind where they had tied Joshua to the fence and sliced several of the ropes tying him to the fence, making everyone scramble to keep him from floating away once again. Once we had him situated, I was startled out of my thoughts by cheering and because I was jumped on and almost had the stuffing squeezed out of me by Esme. "Thank you, Edward. Thank you so much! You repaired it! It looks as good as it did before."

I chuckled at her before hugging her back. "You are so welcome, Esme. After all you've done for us, using a little magic to fix something that you so obviously love is nothing."

After another big squeeze and a kiss on the cheek, Esme ran off to inspect the inside, leaving me to the congratulations and well-done pats by the other students, Emmett, and Jasper.

"Bloody good job, mate!" George cheered. "You did fantastic with that spell. Although, how did you know it?"

I laughed. "Hermione reminded me. We had the normal, everyday spells class earlier this year, and I completely forgot all about it."

"Or those who are coddled by their parents," Fred whispered.

"Maybe we should have gone! We shall see if Dumbledore can organize them again." George beamed and off they went to do just that with no input from me.

 _Finally!_ I heard Isa think when she, Kreacher, and none other than Madame Pomfrey landed in front of me. The latter hating that Isa wouldn't let her run through the school to the yard and had Kreacher transport them there, but before I could say anything, there was a collective "eeeww" that came from the crowd surrounding Joshua.

 _Oh, no, Lockhart's done it again,_ I thought to myself. With a panicked glance at Isa and Kreacher, we ran over to see what that bumbling idiot had done this time.

What we found after we pushed our way through was a deflated Joshua, only instead of going back to normal, he was like a deflated balloon; and on top of that, he was flat, like he had no bones left.

Madame Pomfrey finally got over her shock at what was going on and pushed her way through the crowd that had gathered. "Oh, dear God. What have you done?"

"Can you help him?" one of the others from his class asked.

"I can," Madame Pomfrey huffed. "It's going to take time though. Now I need to get him to the hospital."

"Kreacher, help Madame Pomfrey out." Isa smirked at our health care provider. "The sooner they get there, the sooner she can get to work."

"Yes, Miss Bella." Kreacher bowed low. He also had a smirk on his face, which was gone by the time he turned to Joshua and Madame Pomfrey. "Right this way, ma'am."

One click of his fingers and they were gone.

Isa snickered at the look on Lockhart's face. "Well, that certainly made today more interesting."

~*~UHS~*~

The following Saturday, after balloon-gate as we'd come to call it, we were making our way down to one of the last Quidditch matches of the year. This time between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. We were all hoping that McLaggen would do a much better job.

We were joking around and chatting about what had happened in Esme's classroom. It had taken a little bit of investigating to weed through all the rumors to figure out that two of the boys had been arguing about something Esme had been teaching—each thinking that he was right, instead of listening to Esme—and tempers had flown. Esme went to Professor Dumbledore to ask about it, and he told her that sometimes when emotions were high, magic could burst out and cause … adverse effects. Hence, poor Joshua expanding like a fast-filling balloon. It made me think of a lot of unwanted things that happened around me all those years I didn't know magic existed.

Once that subject had been exhausted, we started talking about what we had planned for the summer, although some of us were worrying about our end of year exams. I had no doubt we wouldn't have a problem, well those in our circle anyway.

It was when we reached the bottom of the moving staircase that I stopped short. The noises in the walls, which had been silent for weeks, were suddenly being made once again. This time, louder than before. It had to have been close.

I saw Isa peer at me from the corner of my eye and knew she'd realized what was going on.

"Follow it, Teddy. Guide us there."

The monster wasn't moving very fast today; it seemed to be concentrating, trying to find where the bulk of the students were. I couldn't have been more grateful that this was a Quidditch day and everyone was outside already. We had only followed it down a couple corridors when I heard its funny speech again.

" _Kill this time … let me rip … let me tear …_ "

"Oh, dear God, it's going to try and kill someone." With that thought, I stopped dead, causing Isa, Hermione, and Neville to collide with me.

 _How is it that he can understand, yet we hear nothing?_ I heard Hermione muse. _Ooohh, could it be?_ "I'll be right back. Go to the match. I'll tell you all about it later!" With that, Hermione was gone before I could get more of a read on her thoughts.

"Can you still hear it, Teddy? And where did Hermione go?"

I spun back to look at Neville and Isa only to shake my head. "It's gone, and I have no idea where Hermione ran off to. She's surprisingly adept at keeping me out of her thoughts, even though she doesn't know Occlumency. She's developed quite an arsenal of tricks." I stopped talking to listen but couldn't hear a thing. "For now, we follow her instructions and go watch the match."

Isa didn't like the fact that Hermione had wandered off on her own; while it hadn't been a specific rule, she didn't think we should be wandering around because it was just that dangerous. But she was gone before Isa could say anything.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, sweetheart," I murmured as we made our way through the massive door. "Nobody's been hurt lately."

Isa huffed, pulling her hand out of mine to cross hers. "And nothing has been heard from the monster until today. She shouldn't have gone off on her own!" With that, Isa walked a little faster and pulled away from both Neville and I.

"Is she mad or worried?" Neville asked.

I looked over at him; he seemed to be worried as well. "She's worried about Hermione." We continued on in silence through the castle and down to the Quidditch pitch. Professor McGonagall and Pokey popped up in front of us just as we reached the entrance. "And she may have had reason to be."

Isa threw me a look over my shoulder, one that said, "I told you so." I tried to read McGonagall's mind, but she seemed to have a tight leash on her thoughts and emotions, like she'd locked them down.

"Mr. Masen, Miss Swan, Mr. Longbottom. Quidditch will be cancelled; we must wait here for Masters Weasley."

"What? Why? You can't cancel Quidditch!" Neville argued, which surprised not only us but himself. It seemed he'd never done that before.

"We can, and we have," McGonagall replied before entering the stadium to do just that. We were quiet even after Fred and George arrived, asking us what was going on. We just waited until Professor McGonagall returned, gesturing for us to follow her. "Right, you lot, follow me. Pokey, you may head back to your duties."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall." Pokey bowed before giving me a meaningful look even though his mind was closed. The look told me I had to be prepared for what was coming.

We were all quiet while we followed the professor through the halls of the castle. It didn't take Isa and I long to figure out where we were heading. In fact, when Isa figured it out, she froze right in the middle of the corridor.

"No. No, no, no, no, no! Tell me it isn't so! It can't be Hermione!"

Professor McGonagall stopped but didn't turn to face us. Her posture stiff, but her hunched shoulders, however, said it all, and Isa knew that.

"No!" Isa wailed. She spun to me and started pounding her fists on my chest. "I told you she shouldn't have gone off on her own. I told you! Why? Why did she do it?"

I wrapped my arms around my devastated girl, trying to get her to calm down and stop hitting me before she hurt herself. I indicated that the others should go on without us to give Isa time to calm down before we went in there.

I could hear Esme already in the hospital wing with Emmett and Jasper. Carlisle, Rose, and Alice were on their way and would be here as soon as they could be.

It took Isa several minutes to stop fighting me and calm down in my arms. She was still whimpering out the word "why?"

"She thought she knew what she was doing, sweet girl. I can promise you that she will be all right. The monster didn't kill her."

Isa looked up at me then. Her eyes wide, wet, and stunningly beautiful. Her tears made them even brighter than usual. "Do you promise?"

"I swear on my life, on our lives, that Hermione will be okay. As soon as the mandrakes are ready, they'll wake up. Both Harry and Hermione."

I held her close with her head on my chest, rubbing her back for a few more moments. When she was ready, Isa pulled back and grabbed my hand. She looked up at me, and I could see that she was ready to go and see our family now.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Oh dear! She really shouldn't have done that. I think Isa is going to be upset for a while, what do you think?**

 **See you in a fortnight.**


	11. Chapter Ten - Unraveling the Riddle

**Hello everyone and welcome to posting day. This fortnight has been a long one, especially considering that I've taken on the task of going back to school myself. It's been daunting, and chock full of information, but writing has still been my release, my escape. I'll just have to find that balance between writing and homework. lol wish me luck!**

 **A heartfelt thank you goes out to Pienuniek and Sally Hopkinson. Without them these chapters would never be what they are. Pien is there for me to bounce ideas off of, and Sally, you make them oh so pretty with your beta work. lol I may need to call on you to read over my assignments!**

 **As usual these stories belong to JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer, no copyright infringement is intended. I've just enjoyed bringing both worlds together.**

 **Thank you for reading.**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten – Unraveling the Riddle**

All was quiet on the grounds of Hogwarts. In fact, it had been quiet for the last few days. The students had been shocked that another student had been attacked. The monster had been so quiet for so long that they thought it had given up, or had been leashed again. I ranged my hearing out, listening for Isa as she made her way through the castle under the invisibility cloak Shane and Jacob had loaned her. We were going to talk to Hagrid.

Isa had been quiet with everyone but me since we walked into the hospital wing to see Hermione. She would talk out loud to people when asked a direct question, but mostly, she spoke to me in her thoughts. I knew she was upset about the fact that two of our friends had been attacked, but in reality, she was angry. Angry with the teachers, angry with Dumbledore, and even a little angry with both me and herself because we hadn't been able to stop it. She apologized profusely every time the thought crossed her mind, but I wasn't mad. She needed to feel what she felt, and I wasn't going to hold that against her. She was using that anger to further our research into finding out what the monster was and even trying to bring Ginny back to us.

Hermione had been smart, though. Smarter than many had given her credit for. She'd been prepared to be on her own and to face the monster. Hermione had taken to carrying a handheld mirror around with her. Isa and I had realized the significance when Professor McGonagall had shown it to us. Hermione was using it to look around corners, making sure she could see the monster before it had seen her. Unfortunately, the monster had been looking in her direction when she'd used it.

Her memories hadn't been any help either. Whatever this thing was, it worked fast. Her memories had already started to fade before we got there. A fact that she had apologized profusely for.

The only thing that plagued me about Isa's behavior was that she wouldn't go and talk to Hermione. Esme sat with her at night, reading her course-load and keeping her company. Luna would sit with her during the day when she had time, and Rose would work half a day at the Middle House and sit with Hermione as well. But Isa? Isa flat out refused. She just wouldn't do it.

I had asked her about it once. All she told me was that she wanted Hermione awake enough to argue back with her, and until then, she would just like to stay mad because it helped her concentrate on figuring it out.

 _I'm here, Teddy._

Isa pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked down over the roof of Hagrid's hut, trying to work out where she was so I didn't land on her.

 _I'm on the front porch. I'll pull the cloak off when you're down here._

I landed silently behind her and waited for her to pull the cloak off. When she had and folded it up, I leaned down to kiss her head. I was really worried about her.

 _I'm okay, Teddy, I promise. I know you're worried; I'm just mad that all of this has fallen onto us. It's like the teachers aren't doing anything to find out what's going on. What's it going to take? Another death?_

I kissed her head again. "I know, Isa. It's been left to us. I'm no happier about it. It's not like we have the experience needed for this, but who better than two immortals?"

 _As immortal as we can get without knowing what we're up against and whether it can kill us or not._

I hummed in acknowledgement of her statement but didn't answer because what could I say? Instead, I reached over and knocked on Hagrid's door. We both could hear the thumps as he approached the door before he pulled it open slowly, pointing a crossbow out at us. It was almost like he was afraid of who would be on the other side of the door. Once again, though, I was unable to read his thoughts because he was very focused.

"What're you two doin' out 'ere?"

"We need to know what happened, Hagrid. Nobody else is talking. What happened the last time the chamber was opened?"

"Shhh," he hushed. "Come in here quick."

He ushered us into his cabin before he started pacing around. "You 'ave to understand. Aragog never did anything. He wasn't what was in the chamber." He started to ramble on and on.

"Hagrid …" Isa called but was ignored. "Hagrid … HAGRID!" When Isa shouted his name, he came to a standstill. "We know Aragog wasn't the monster from the chamber; we know you didn't open it." Isa sighed. "We just want to know what happened from your point of view, that's all."

"Oh. Well, if that's all …" He went to continue but I held up my hand.

"It'll have to wait a minute, Hagrid; you're about to have visitors. We need to hide." I picked Isa up and sat down in an empty corner with Isa throwing the invisibility cloak over us when we did. She nestled onto my lap just as there was a knock on the door.

We watched Hagrid pick up his crossbow from where he had left it leaning against the wall next to the door, only to, once again, open it very slowly and peer out at who was there. "Oh, Professor Dumbledore, sir. What can I help you with?"

"You remember Cornelius Fudge, right, Hagrid?"

 _This can't be good if the Minister of Magic is here._

That did strike me as odd. "Why would the minister be here?"

 _I think they're going to put the blame on where it ended up last time. Instead of investigating the new claims, they're just going with what they know because Hagrid is here._

"But Professor Dumbledore knows I would never hurt anyone! Especially the Muggle-borns!" Hagrid argued.

"I want it on the record that I don't agree with this, Cornelius. Hagrid has my full confidence."

"I'm afraid, Albus, that Hagrid's record speaks against him. Things changed last time when Hagrid was expelled …"

"Yes, and you know my thoughts on that, too, Cornelius."

Cornelius Fudge seemed to ignore that statement from Dumbledore and turned his face up to look directly at Hagrid. "I'm going to have to take you in, Hagrid. Something has to be done."

"Take me in? Certainly not to Azkaban prison!"

 _Hagrid won't last there. The Dementors will suck him dry._

I sucked in a sharp breath. Surely, they wouldn't. They don't have any evidence against him except from a corrupt student who turned out to be the worst wizard in recent history.

Before anything else could be said, Hagrid's front door swung open to reveal another interloper, someone we didn't want to see on school grounds ever again—Lucius Malfoy. "Ah, good. You're already here, Fudge."

Hagrid seemed to stand up taller. He was furious that this man, and he used that term loosely, thought he could just wander in whenever he felt like it. "What're yeh doin' 'ere? Get out of my house!"

Lucius snorted delicately. "You call this a house? I take no pleasure in being here. Hmph. I called in at the school and was told the headmaster was here."

 _He's going to have me removed, Edward. Things will get worse if I'm not here._ "And what, pray tell, do you want with me, Lucius?"

I snorted quietly. Like he'd done much besides recruiting us since this all happened anyway, how much worse could it get?

"The other governors and I have decided that it's time for you to step aside. I have here an order of suspension with all twelve signatures on it. With all these attacks on Muggle-borns, we feel as though you have lost your touch."

"Governors?" I whispered to Isa.

 _It's a school board, essentially. I didn't know the Malfoys were on it though._

"That's not a good thing. Although from Mr. Malfoy's thoughts, not all of them were willing signers."

Isa snorted that time. _That doesn't surprise me in the least. He's probably threatened over half of them._

"You can't take Professor Dumbledore away. If you do, there will be no-one to protect the Muggle-borns," Hagrid argued. "I'm telling you; there will be killings next."

"Is that a threat?" Mr. Malfoy asked maliciously.

"No! It's what will happen if you remove Dumbledore!"

Professor Dumbledore, who had walked away, walked back and placed a hand on Hagrid's arm. "It's okay, Hagrid. If the governors require me to step aside, then I will." Dumbledore looked directly at Isa and me when he had finished. _Even though I'm not here, I can help should you need it. Just ask._

"Shall we, Professor," Mr. Malfoy sneered. With one more meaningful look in our direction, Dumbledore followed that despicable man out of Hagrid's hut, Cornelius Fudge and Hagrid looking on in silence.

Fudge turned back to face whom he had come to collect. "Come now, Hagrid. We must be off too."

Hagrid cleared his throat and looked around awkwardly. He was nowhere near as subtle as Dumbledore had been. "I need Fang fed while I'm away, and if someone were to need answers, all they'd have to do would be to follow the spiders." Fudge looked up at Hagrid with a frown on his face. "That's it; just follow the spiders."

Isa gave a shudder at the thought of following any spiders, big or small. As soon as Hagrid and Fudge were out the door, Isa pulled off the invisibility cloak. "Well, that was all _bad_ news. Very bad news." I stood her up from my lap before clambering up myself. "Hagrid's right though; more of the students in the school will be targeted without Dumbledore, even though he really has left it to us more than he should have."

"But he has been there when we needed help, sweet girl." She nodded while feeding Fang, and I looked around the hut. "Isa look." I pointed to one of the few windows where the spiders were quickly fleeing.

"Ugh." She shuddered. "Think we should do what Hagrid said and follow them?"

"I think it's the only way we're going to get any straight answers." I grabbed the lantern off the hook, even though we didn't really need it, told Fang to stay put, and led the way out onto the front porch. Isa and I spent a few minutes looking for the spiders but cringed when we found them running toward the Forbidden Forest.

"Oh, of course. Because we aren't breaking enough rules being out of bed, we're now going to go into the forest," Isa commented sarcastically. "Let's just go and break them all, shall we?"

I snickered at her put-out face, then held up my spare hand in supplication when she shot me a filthy look. "I know this is not ideal, sweet girl, but something needs to be done. If the teachers can't do anything, then it's up to us."

Her posture loosened and she reached over to hold my hand. "I know, Teddy. It just feels like there is so much pressure on us. I can't wait to tell our friends and family everything; we need all the help we can get."

We were quiet as we made our way into the trees. The forest was a lot denser than I previously thought, the trees being no more than a few meters apart, and where there was a bigger space, the trees had a massive root system all gnarled out among the trunks. Using our extra sharp senses, we were able to keep a keen eye on where the spiders were heading. The further we got into the forest, the denser it became until we came to what seemed to be a hollow or meadow.

What made Isa freeze, though, was all the white, sticky, tendrils being blown gently in the breeze. Not only them but the webs that were strung from tree to tree. These weren't any ordinary webs though; these were easily a hundred times the normal size.

"I'm t-t-thinking," Isa stuttered, "that Aragog survived."

"Yup, and I'm thinking he's prospered. But we have something we need to do."

Isa took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and then marched her way into the hollow with me following behind her.

"Who dares enter my domain?" an ominous voice called out.

"My name is Edward and this is my mate, Isabella. Hagrid has sent us to talk to you."

"You are … friends of Hagrid?"

"We are."

That was when we heard the footsteps. And from the burrow in front of us, one long hairy leg worked its way out, then another, and another before a head with many beady eyes exited. By the time it had exited the burrow, I wondered how it had fit because, to me, it seemed much larger than a small elephant.

"You are Aragog?" Isa asked in a strong voice. But I felt something else happening around us, and it wasn't just the hundreds of feet moving or the hissing sounds I could hear. It was something entirely different.

"I am. Hagrid has never sent other humans into our domain before."

I snorted. "And he hasn't done so now either; so don't go getting any ideas."

The really large spider in front of us huffed a little, causing several of his children or minions to come flying at us on the attack. I crouched, leaping in front of Isa, preparing to defend her against them, only to have the one that had jumped rebound off something about a foot in front of us.

I had completely forgotten about Isa's shield. We'd experimented with it over the summer, enough that she had it down pat; it must have been the something I felt before. I growled, still in my crouch, placing Isa right behind me, making sure that her shield was as far out from us as possible.

"How dare you? We've come here under friendly circumstances, and you attack us!"

"We don't get fresh meat often; how could my children help themselves?"

"Because you control them! Do not think me a fool, Aragog. I know you told them to attack; I know animals."

 _You're going to want me to lift my shield, aren't you?_ Isa asked from behind me. I squeezed her hip, which I was still hanging onto in answer to her question.

"And how do you know that?" Aragog asked, his voice taking on a deeper timbre.

"Because I am one!" I growled again, feeling when Isa lifted her shield from me. I flew at the closest of his children tearing its head from its body before catching the next one that flew at me. Its legs were wrenched from the torso just as one tried to catch my leg, causing me to kick it into the nearest tree. The crunch that sounded was loud, loud enough that everything came to a standstill.

I could tell Aragog was fuming. "What are you?"

I stood as Isa's shield came back down over me. "Vampire," I growled. "Now you will answer our questions, then we will be on our way. Should your children attempt to harm me or my mate, they will be duly punished."

Silence met my ears; I wasn't even sure Isa was breathing.

"Good. Now that we have that established. Hagrid was arrested tonight for opening the Chamber of Secrets. Did he do it? Was it him fifty years ago who opened it the first time? Was the monster in there you?"

"No," he breathed. "I came from a distant land in the pocket of a stranger. All Hagrid ever did was look after me and give me a place to hide."

"Then who was it?"

Aragog took a step toward Isa and me. "I do not know. I hid away from everyone and everything. Hagrid would never hurt anyone."

"Too right," I huffed. "Unlike some I know."

Isa threw me a look when she stepped to my side. "Mr. Aragog, sir. Do you know what's in the chamber?"

"We do not speak of it. It is an ancient creature that even we are afraid of, something that can live for hundreds of years." Aragog paused for a moment, in which I tried to read his mind. All he seemed to be thinking about was his fleeing from the castle. "But on the night I fled the castle, the monster had killed someone. A girl in a bathroom. Not long after that, Hagrid was expelled, and he brought me out here where I thrived."

 _Girl?_ _Bathroom?_ Isa froze, a picture of Moaning Myrtle coming to the forefront of her mind. _Surely not. Do you think so?_ She looked up at me.

I shrugged my shoulders because, really, who knew. There were so many ghosts in the castle, but then, there weren't many school aged who lived in a bathroom.

"I think it's time for us to leave now," I murmured before looking back at Aragog. "Thank you for telling us what you know." I schooled my features into a scowl. "Let us be as we leave, and I won't wipe out all your children one by one."

Aragog huffed. "Indeed. Go now before I change my mind."

Isa and I walked backward, making our way out of the clearing. Once we were free, we spun around. I crouched down, motioning silently for Isa to climb onto my back. I wanted to get us moving because I didn't trust that spider as far as I could throw him. When she was settled, I took off at a pace that was fast, even for me.

Nothing was said between us as we made our way back to the castle because we were both lost in our own thoughts; it wasn't until Cortesia stepped out from behind a tree that we came to a stop.

"Cortesia! What are you doing here?" Isa asked.

 _I came because I could feel a disturbance in Isabella's aura; it seems we are connected in a way I hadn't anticipated. What is going on?_

I put Isa down, explaining to Cortesia all that had been going on. Isa walked over to Cortesia to give her a rub on the nose and to brush down her mane.

 _The chamber has been opened? That is not a good thing._ Cortesia paced a little, nudging Isa every time she walked by her, making her giggle. _But Isabella must not continue with her anger. She needs to deal with it, talk to Hermione—even in this state—and tell her how she feels. She needs to feel her feelings and deal with them, not bottle them up, or she may end up hurting someone._ Cortesia tsked in her thoughts. _Anger will never be a way to solve a problem; it's only clouding her judgment and not helping her. Show her the way, Edward, even if she needs to rant to an unconscious Hermione._

"That's the thing though, the petrified aren't unconscious. They know what's going on around them; it's how we're keeping them up with their studies. People are reading to them."

 _Then Isabella needs to talk to Hermione. You need to help her do that. Do it soon._

After I had translated that all to Isa, she hugged Cortesia's nose again then looked up into her intelligent eyes. "I'm sorry, Cortesia. I didn't know. I'll sleep on it, calm down some, and then talk to Hermione. Maybe she can still help us."

 _Good, then my work is done. I'll be heading home now._

"Thank you, Cortesia; we'll keep all your teachings in mind."

She nodded, then nudged Isa again before walking off into the forest and disappearing.

"I still have a lot to learn about my kind and what I can do." Isa sighed. "It seems the more I learn, the more there is to learn."

I picked Isa up and situated her back on my back. "Don't worry, sweet girl; we'll learn all there is together."

We quietly made our way up to the castle, Isa nearly falling asleep on my back. She didn't stir until we made it up to the Fat Lady.

"We're not going to talk to Myrtle tonight?" she asked sleepily.

"No. I think we need to regroup, think about everything, get a good night's sleep, and then face everything tomorrow."

"Think we should fill Neville and the twins in?"

"I don't know. Something else to think about."

Isa nodded. She was solemn in her thoughts about Myrtle. Isa was hoping that she hadn't been the victim of something so heinous. Isa reached up, kissing me on the cheek. "It certainly is a lot to think about. 'Night, Teddy."

I sent her to bed with a kiss on the forehead and a goodnight. When I knew she was safely in her bed, I made my way to the bathroom to take a shower, hoping it would clear my head and help me sort through everything we'd been told tonight. I knew Hagrid was innocent, then and now, but proving it would be a challenge. Lucius Malfoy had succeeded in having Dumbledore removed from the school, which could prove to be dangerous if Voldemort was indeed behind the attacks. Although, like Isa pointed out, he hadn't really done much but leave it to us to try to sort out. It was a heavy weight for Isa and me to bear.

I wasn't surprised to find Isa curled up in my chair when I made it back to my corner; she was feeling the effects as much as I was. To know we had the ability to stop what was happening, if only we could figure out what the monster was and where it was hidden. I put my things away then carefully lifted her up and placed her on my lap, wrapping up in her blankets.

There was a lot to think about while she was sleeping peacefully. I only hoped she stayed that way.

~*~UHS~*~

By morning, I hadn't come to any clear decision on what to say to our friends, or whether or not we should talk to Myrtle. Although, if she could give us any information, it could only be helpful. Whether to clear our thoughts or confirm what we were beginning to suspect. What I had decided on was to take Cortesia's advice. Isa was talking to Hermione, this morning, whether she wanted to or not.

When Isa awoke, she looked up at me with another of her solemn looks. "Morning, Teddy."

I leaned down to kiss her forehead once more. "Morning, sweetheart. Why don't you get ready to go down for breakfast?"

"Come to any decisions?" she asked quietly, reaching out to run her finger down my cheek.

"No." I shook my head. "Telling the others could lead to them doing something reckless, but on the other hand, we might need their help."

"A conundrum indeed." Isa rose, placing a slow loving kiss on my cheek before moving off to get ready for another day at school.

We were both quiet but affectionate when we made our way down to breakfast with the others. They could tell something was bothering us but made no move to ask what it was. None of them knew that we'd snuck out to see Hagrid last night; it was something we had decided to do on our own.

 _I think we need to keep this to ourselves, Teddy._ I looked down at my girl while she was eating her breakfast. Once again keeping quiet around the others unless asked a direct question. _I can feel that something is …_

"Good morning, students," Professor McGonagall interrupted Isa when she stepped up to the podium. She seemed to be as solemn as the rest of the populace at school. "It is hard, in these times, to find the meaning and the will to keep going. With Headmaster Dumbledore out of the school, we must find these extra reasons, now more than ever." She sighed looking around at us all.

It was in this pause that I heard the first clear thoughts from Ginny in a long while. She wanted to tell us something, help us figure out what was happening to her, because we had never given up on her. Professor McGonagall interrupted again.

"I have news for us all. The school has been kept open because we are only weeks away from this year's finals; you must start to revise and prepare for them." There was a loud groan from across all the tables. "Also, the mandrakes are almost fully grown; a few more days and they will be plucked and stewed to make the Mandrake Draught to awaken our petrified." A cheer went up through the Great Hall, Isa and I included, celebrating that our friends would be awake once more. "For now, though, off to your lessons."

Ginny made her way over to us as Isa and I stood. We looked at her, just waiting, because we could see she was fighting with herself. Her mouth opening and closing several times, her hands fisting and relaxing, her face scrunching up then morphing back into a frown. But just as she opened her mouth to say something, her big brother pushed his way through. Percy hadn't changed in the time I'd known him, except to get more arrogant and pushy as time went on. In fact, he didn't even realize that it was his sister that he had pushed out of the way.

"Off to class you lot. No time for standing around." Isa and I turned, disappointed that Ginny had made a run for it when Percy had pushed her. "Wait, you two; how's everyone in the hospital wing? How's Harry?" He asked that as if he had been his friend all along, like he was familiar with all we had done. Even though he wasn't sure what to make of Isa and me. Me especially.

"Percy! Did you even see your sister there when you pushed her out of the way?" Isa growled as the person in question sat at the table and quickly started to stuff his face before the food was taken away.

"Huh?" I shook my head at either his arrogance or ignorance. "She was there?"

"Yes, she was there!" Isa exclaimed throwing her arms up in the air. "And she was trying to tell us something important. Have you been so involved with your own life that you haven't even noticed how she's been withdrawn all year?" Percy just sat there in silence. "Oh, my God. She was about to tell us what was wrong with her, and you just pushed her away!"

"Don't go getting all upset with me, Bella. Ginny's only withdrawn because she may have …" Percy trailed off, mumbling at the end.

"Excuse me, what?"

I snorted into a laugh, pulling Percy's attention to me. "And just what are you laughing at?"

I snorted again at his thoughts. "Nothing, Percy. But I don't think what you're suggesting is Ginny's problem. We'll be on our way." Before he could say another word, I was towing Isa out of the Great Hall. She argued with me, of course. I wouldn't have expected anything less from my spitfire, but it was just too funny to stay there and listen to Percy.

Eventually, Isa managed to pull me to a stop and demanded an answer from me. "Teddy, what was that?"

"That"—I chuckled—"was Percy being himself. He had noticed Ginny's distance from everyone this year, or at least recently. He really is unobservant most of the time, mostly because he's too wrapped up in his self-importance. Anyway"—I waved my hand because I could see Isa's impatience was wearing thin by the furrow of her brows and the crossed arms—"Ginny caught him a few weeks ago with his girlfriend, uhh … making out, quite heavily, in a broom cupboard."

The look on Isa's face was pure shock; even her thoughts were blank, at least for a minute. "What? Percy has a girlfriend?"

I lost it. I bent over laughing because she was completely stumped. In fact, I'm not sure anyone would believe it. Once I'd calmed down, I looked back at her. "Yes, my sweet girl, Percy has a girlfriend."

"And he thinks the way she's been is because she caught them _… kissing_?" I chuckled again but nodded my head at her question. "Oh, my God! He's so self-absorbed."

I grabbed her hand and started towing her along. We had Defense Against the Dark Arts first, so we were going to visit our friends in the hospital wing. "He is, Isa. But hopefully, Ginny will come to us again. She's starting to fight against the blockage in her mind."

Isa breathed out a sigh. "Thank goodness." We kept walking for a little bit until Isa figured out where I was taking her, then she pulled us to a stop before crossing her arms over her chest. "No, Teddy. I am not going in there."

"Yes, Isabella, you are. You heard Cortesia last night. You won't be any help until you get it all out. Hermione can hear you, and I can translate, but you need to tell her how you feel. Anger may be the easiest emotion to feel but it will control you if you let it. The more anger you feel, the more it controls you. I need you to help me, Isa, and you can't do that if you're repressing your other emotions. Haven't we learned that the key to relationships is communication?"

"Oh, that's not fair." Isa huffed as she began to pace in the hallway. "But, yes, you're right, it is. Okay, fine." She threw up her hands before stalking to the hospital wing.

I followed along behind her, determined to let her get it all out first before I interrupted her. She needed to be able to express her feelings without me interrupting. Isa barged through the doors, almost slamming them on the walls behind them.

Madame Pomfrey ran quickly out from her little office to see what the noise was, only to freeze at the magnificent site that was my Isa storming into the room. Madame Pomfrey went to protest Isa's behavior, but I shook my head, causing her to look at me. "She needs this, Madame Pomfrey. You may heal the body, but you must realize that the mind needs healing too. Isa's mind is in turmoil, and she needs to confront the one who caused that in order to heal."

Our illustrious caretaker didn't say anything but huffed before she turned and flounced away. _I don't know why Albus let them in here. They ignore the rules and think they can do whatever they want, see whomever they want, and be treated by whomever they want. I'm the nurse here not that … that … vampire!_

I shook my head as I followed Isa over to Hermione's bed. We had really insulted her when Isa wouldn't allow anyone but Carlisle to examine me. I just hadn't realized how much until now. The fact that we were also allowed to have Saffy and Athan in here, as well as Kreacher, didn't endear us to her any more. She thought we were rule breakers and only got away with it because of what we were.

It was a good thing nobody else was in the hospital wing at the moment. The students were all in class, and the parents or teachers who were helping had taken a short break, for both themselves and the petrified. I sidled up to Hermione's bed and took a seat while watching Isa carefully pace back and forth at the end of it. One arm was crossed over her chest while the other held her hand to her mouth. Isa had closed her mind off with Occlumency for the moment, gathering her thoughts. I just hoped she opened it when she began to talk because I wanted to make sure she was okay.

While I waited for Isa to gather her thoughts, I leaned over to talk to Hermione quietly. "Hey, little sister. How are you today?"

 _Eh, about as good as expected. Even with people reading to me, I'm bored out of my mind. Edward, I have something to show you._

"Uh oh. Not right now, Hermione. Looks like Isa is finally ready to talk to you."

 _She's here! Oh, she's gonna be so mad._

I snorted. "You don't know the half of it."

We both fell silent as Isa turned to face Hermione, not that Hermione knew that. She had her hands on her hips with her head held up in the air. "I don't know what you were thinking running off like that, Hermione. We had all decided not to go off alone, and there you went doing exactly that! And now, look at you, laid up in that bed all petrified!"

Isa spent the next little while getting all of her anger out. She went from pacing the floor while waving her arms around wildly to standing at the foot of the bed in a defiant manner with her arms crossed and the fiercest of looks on her face. After about fifteen minutes, she came up and stood beside Hermione, grabbing her hand.

"Do you know what one of the worst parts is?" Isa asked with tears in her eyes. Her posture screamed defeat with her shoulders slumped and her head hanging low. It was then that her mind opened back up to me, causing me to gasp then rush around the bed to pull her into my arms. "You made me feel completely helpless, Hermione. You're my best friend, my sister, and I can't see myself without you. But without thinking, you ran off to fight this on your own. And now, I'm guilty of getting you hurt because I didn't figure it out before you." With the last word, Isa finally broke through the emotional barrier she had placed on herself and let go. She turned, clinging to me with all she had, and broke down into tears. I maneuvered her into my arms before walking back around the bed and sitting down, just to let her get it all out.

 _It's not her fault._ I heard whispered from beside me. _I shouldn't have gone off on my own, but it was never my intent to make her feel guilty. The fault lies with me._

It took me several minutes to be able to calm Isa down enough to settle against me and to know she was now listening, that they both were listening. "I want you two to listen to me. This is neither of your faults; the fault lies with the person, or persons, who have opened the Chamber of Secrets. All we've ever done is try to figure it out, and maybe that fault lies with Dumbledore. He lay this at our feet, asking for our help, and Isa and I included the rest of you … At its core, though, the fault lies with Voldemort."

Isa nodded and Hermione hummed her agreement. We sat quietly for a moment before Isa stiffened, both in body and thought, before getting up from my lap. At the same time, Hermione started back on her thought from earlier. _Edward, what I was trying to tell you before was …_

"Isa, what are you doing?"

"I thought I felt something before …" She paused before mentioning her breakdown. "Well, before. Hermione has something in her hand."

 _Yes, yes, yes! That's what I was trying to tell you! When I ran off, I went to the library because I figured something out._

We were interrupted by a tearing of paper. Isa had managed to pull something from Hermione's hand.

"Damn, it tore when I pulled it. I'll try to get the rest of it." I walked around the bed to inspect the paper as Isa started to manipulate Hermione's hand to get the rest of it out. I picked up the paper to look it over, only to see the top left-hand corner of the page, but all it had on it was a capital B in old style calligraphy.

"What did you figure out, Hermione? And how does it translate to this page?"

 _The only people who can hear this 'monster' are you and Harry. The only two people in the school that I know of who can speak Parseltongue. Which means that …_

"The monster we've been chasing has to be a snake. Damn." Isa handed me the next two pieces of paper she'd pulled out. "Why didn't I think of that?" I murmured. When Isa handed me some more of the page, I realized I didn't have enough room to put the page together. I looked around, trying to find somewhere to put it together, but there were no hospital trays anywhere. I turned back to the bed, deciding that was the best place, and smirked as I pushed Hermione's legs making her lie diagonally on the bed.

"Hey!" Isa laughed, trying to pull Hermione's hand back to her. "I was working on getting that out."

"Sorry," I chuckled. I picked Hermione up and maneuvered her into a position that would benefit both Isa and me, giving her Hermione's hand and me more room to work with. "Well done, Hermione! What did you come up with?"

I just got the top two pieces together, giving me the name, when Hermione answered, _Basilisk._

Isa placed the last few pieces down in front of me so I could try to put the page together. I was just about to slot a new one down when a flash of light came from next to me accompanied by Isa beautiful voice. "Reparo."

I smirked over at Isa as the pieces knitted themselves together. Isa stood next to me, looking at the page. "Basilisk. A large snake. God damn it, that's what Hermione figured out because only you and Harry could hear it. We should have figured this out _ages_ ago."

I snorted derisively. "There were probably a lot of things we should have figured out. But this is all so new to all of us, even those of you who have been in the magical community all their lives."

"Let's read some more," Isa murmured, picking up the page. " _The Basilisk is a giant serpent known as the King of Serpents._ _Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous; for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it._ "

"This has to be it. It's the only thing that fits. Well done, Hermione!" I praised her. "Not that it excuses you from running off on your own."

I heard her giggle in my head. _No, and I fully expect to be grounded over summer._

I chuckled at her thought then explained it for Isa so she could join in our laughter. When we settled down, Isa looked back over the page.

"You're right; it does fit. Like Aragog said, it's their mortal enemy, and they flee before it. It also explains the roosters; remember they were killed earlier in the year."

"I do remember," I replied, reading over her shoulders. "And now, I can understand, thanks to Hermione, why nobody has died; even though it can kill with one look." Isa looked up at me; she hadn't quite figured it out. "Nobody has looked it directly in the eye. Colin had his camera …"

I saw Isa's light bulb moment in her eyes. "Harry was looking through Nearly Headless Nick, and Hermione had the mirror. Even Mrs. Norris was seeing it's reflection in the water from the bathroom. Hermione, what does this word on the corner mean? Pipes?"

Hermione answered as I translated for Isa. _I think that's how it's getting around the castle without being seen. Otherwise, we would have more petrified cases or even deaths on our hands._

"And fifty years ago, when this thing was last released, the only muggle-born witch to die by its eyes was …" Isa started while I concluded, "Moaning Myrtle."

 _That means the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets must be in the first floor girl's bathroom._

"That was our conclusion, yes. Isa and I will make our way there now and talk to Myrtle. Hopefully, we can take care of this problem before someone else is hurt. Thank you, Hermione!"

 _You're welcome!_ She answered as I pulled Isa out of the hospital wing as fast as she could run.

"Time to get to work. We've got a monster to stop."

~*~UHS~*~

"Where are we going, Teddy?"

"We've got to find Professor McGonagall and let her know everything we know. After that, she'll know what to do."

"Then the best place is to wait in the staff room; she should be between classes right now."

I ranged my gift out trying to find her and realized she was about to call the teachers to the staff room anyway. And when I read why, I almost came to a stop.

"We've got to get to the staff room now. We've got to hide."

"What? Why?"

"Just promise me to keep quiet while we're hiding."

"O-okay."

Just then, all the suits of armor started speaking at once, all reciting and repeating the same words. " _Students please return to your dormitories, teachers to the staff room. Immediately."_

"Oh, this can't be good," Isa whispered.

"It's not, baby girl; just remember to keep quiet. But be prepared."

She nodded as we ran into the staff room. "Quick, Teddy, over here!" Isa pointed to a wardrobe. The staff room seemed to be a weird place for that. Using our natural speed, Isa threw the door open, only to find an unidentifiable blob. It was gray in color but moved as though it were alive; we stared for a second before it started to swirl and twist, taking shape into something else.

 _Boggart! Oh, my God, we saw the Boggart's natural shape!_ _Oh no …_

The second Isa and I registered what it was turning into, I slammed the wardrobe door in its face. We didn't have time to deal with that right now. I spun around, frantically searching for another place to hide because the first of the teachers were coming down the corridor.

This time it was me who pointed to a door on the far side of the room. We vamped over to it but paused to listen, making sure nothing was hiding behind door number two. Once we determined there was nothing there, I wrenched the door open, only giving us enough time to get inside before the teachers entered the room. The only problem we had was stopping the momentum from our spill into the cupboard; we very nearly made a lot of noise with the mops and buckets.

I snickered quietly when Isa had to grab several of the mops and brooms before they fell over. _Don't laugh._ She snickered herself. _I sure hope Filch doesn't want to lean against his broom, otherwise we'll be found out._

Once Isa had them standing, she joined me at the door. Not that we had to be that close to hear, but sometimes, it was nice to get things clearly. Unfortunately for us, our favorite DADA teacher just happened to plant himself in front of the door. I really had to hide my snicker when his putrid aftershave drifted under the door, and Isa scrunched her nose while waving her hand in front of her face. Her waving became frantic, however, when the stench made her itch dangerously inside her nose. Our game would be up, in spite of our supernatural status, if she couldn't get it under control, and all because of that damn poser Lockhart. At the last moment, Isa dove silently, nose first, into the crook of my neck, wrapping her arms around me, and inhaled deeply. My scent was enough to kill the waves of WIZARD! aftershave assaulting her nose. We both let out silent sighs of relief when the urge had passed.

She stayed there even when Professor McGonagall started to talk. "Tomorrow morning, we will be starting to send the students home. I think this may be the end of Hogwarts."

There were shocked gasps from all over the small room on the other side of the door. But it was Professor Snape, interestingly enough, who asked the follow-up question. "What's happened, Minerva? Why are we sending the children home?"

 _He sounds genuinely upset,_ Isa thought. _You would have thought he'd be happy about that._

McGonagall's breath stuttered slightly. "A student has been taken by the monster, right into the Chamber of Secrets."

There were several more gasps from the teachers. Professor Flitwick let out a rather girly squeal while several of the female teachers held their hands to their mouths and started to cry. I was able to see almost all of this through Professor McGonagall, but I couldn't concentrate on them too much because my girl had started to shake. She knew the news wasn't going to be good, but this had been so much more than she had thought.

 _It's going to get worse, right? That's why you want me to brace myself?_ I was able to answer her question by nodding because she was still buried in the crook of my neck. _The only way it would be worse was if it was someone we know._ Again, I nodded, I didn't want to lie to her, and if we were going to do something about it, she had to face it head on.

"Oh, dear God," whispered Madam Hooch. "Are you sure, Minerva? How do you know?"

"Because the Heir of Slytherin left us another message on the wall under the first one. ' _Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever.'_ "

We heard wails around the room; surprisingly, the only one who was quiet was Lockhart. Even Professor Snape seemed to be upset by this turn of events.

"Who? Which student?" This question came from Jasper. Both he and Esme knew we were in the cupboard, and they knew we were going to be upset, none more so than Isa, but they had to keep going.

Professor McGonagall took a deep breath, as did Isa, though she held hers. "Ginny Weasley," McGonagall whispered.

While there was pandemonium in the staff room, it was the strangled whisper of "Noooo" against my neck I had to worry about. Isa clung to me, tighter than I could ever remember, and shook for all she was worth. Her mind was a kaleidoscope of mixed emotions, moving from one to another faster than I could get a hold of, and it made me feel helpless because all I could do was try and hold her and her magic together long enough for the majority of the teachers to remove themselves from the staff room.

I just hoped Isa would be able to see this through. I couldn't do it without her.

 _Why, Teddy? Why her? Why us? Why haven't the teachers done anything about this? Why hasn't Dumbledore?_ After that, her thoughts jumbled up again while she grieved for her friend. Her tears were like hot little branding irons as they dampened my shirt and made me angrier than I had ever been. My Isa should never, ever, be this upset, damn it.

It was the snide voice of Snape that brought the ruckus outside our cupboard to a halt. "Well, Lockhart, it seems your moment has come at last. Time to be the big hero you seem to be."

Both Isa and I froze along with Lockhart on the other side of the door. I could see through McGonagall that he blanched, turning completely white.

Professor Sprout piped up next. "That's right, Gilderoy. Weren't you saying that you knew where the entrance was all along? Just the other night?"

"Oh-I-uh …"

"Ah, yes, you also told me that you knew what was inside the chamber, right?" Professor Flitwick asked.

Snape interrupted before Lockhart could say anything. "You also said you were disappointed that you were unable to have a crack at the monster before Hagrid was arrested. You wanted free rein, right? And you should have had it right from the beginning?"

"I-I think y-y-you may have m-misunderstood …" Lockhart sputtered. Even without Jasper's talent, I could tell he was panicking. He hadn't actually expected this to happen. Once again, his blowhard ways had gotten him into trouble.

Professor McGonagall let a small smile cross her face, one that was both a warning and smug satisfaction. "Right then, we'll leave the monster to you, Gilderoy. Tonight will be perfect, and we can make sure none of the students are in your way."

"V-very well," Lockhart said. "I'll be in my o-office, getting"—he took a deep breath—"getting ready." With little to no fanfare, he swept from the room; he had very little going on inside his mind. In fact, it was the first time that I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

All the other professors waited in silence for a few minutes before McGonagall called them to attention once again. "Now that he's otherwise occupied, we need to let the students know what's going on. We need to make sure nobody is wandering the halls and have them pack their things to go home tomorrow on the train."

 _Are they all gone?_ Isa asked after a few minutes of only feet moving then silence.

"Almost all of them," I said out loud. Isa gave me a look that basically asked _then why are you talking?_ But he followed me out of the cupboard anyway, only to discover what I meant when Jasper and Esme were waiting on the other side.

 _Oh_ … "Hi, Mummy; hi, Jasper."

"Don't you 'hi, Mummy' me," Esme growled. "What do you two think you're doing in there? Why do I get the feeling you're about to do something you shouldn't?"

"Because someone has to save Ginny, and nobody knows more about what's going on than Isa and I."

"But why you two? Why can't someone more … adult … with more magic do this?" Esme reached out to grab Isa into her arms. She was remembering what happened last year when we went up against Voldemort.

"Dumbledore has put his trust in them, Esme. He's shared things with the pair of them that nobody else has been privy to, you know that, and if anyone is going to save Hogwarts, it's going to be these two," Jasper murmured, reaching out to place a hand on her arm. "I know it's scary, but they are the best ones to do this. We need to support them as best we can. _But,_ I think we need to discuss everything from here on out; we all need to know what's going on."

Isa and I nodded, knowing we were going to be filling everyone in on what has been going on over the summer, and that included Draco.

"Fine," Esme sniffled. She pushed Isa away but held her at arm's length. "But you will go and find a magical adult to take with you into the chamber. I don't want you doing it on your own."

Isa looked up at Esme with her most innocent expression. I knew she would be lying through her teeth because I could hear it in her thoughts.

Isa was right. We couldn't take anyone; there was too much at stake.

"Mummy, we'll find someone to take, we promise. But we have to get a move on if we're going to get to Ginny before it's too late."

"You're right." She pulled Isa into another hug, then reached out for one from me also. "Be careful and bring that girl back to her family safe and sound. Where will you be going?"

Isa was the one to answer Esme's question. "We're going to need to get into the first floor girls' bathroom. That's where the entrance for the chamber is. Can you guys keep everyone away from there?"

"Consider it done, little sister. Now get going."

Isa gave Jasper a jaunty little salute that he'd been teaching her. She had wanted to learn more about all of our pasts, from the very beginning, so whenever we were home, she'd spend time one-on-one with someone and talk about everything. Although, she was most fascinated by Carlisle's and Jasper's long histories since they'd been alive far longer than she could comprehend, not that it would last; she'd learn that soon enough.

As Esme and Jasper chuckled at us, we made our way to the door of the teachers' lounge. Pausing, I listened to make sure that no one was around; when the coast was clear, we waved and started in the direction of the bathroom while Jasper and Esme went the other way to make a distraction. What that was, I had no idea, but Jasper was thinking of recruiting Peeves and a few of the other ghosts for some fun. I'm sure they'd have a ball.

Isa's thoughts caught my attention. She was cycling through our professors and wondering which one we were going to recruit. _We're not really going to get a teacher, are we?_

I snorted, shaking my head. "I wasn't thinking of it. We don't need more people; they'd only get in the way."

 _Good._

We quietly made our way through the castle corridors, using all of our enhanced senses and gifts to our advantage. My hearing was ranged as far as it could reach, and Isa had her shield up around us. We didn't know if it would make any difference if the Basilisk suddenly appeared in front of us, but we wanted to use everything we had to our advantage. It wasn't until we were coming up to Lockhart's office that my mind wavered on whether we should have an adult or not, and it wasn't because I was scared. No, I was furious that the one person who had been put in front of our friends, the one who was given the task to teach them to defend themselves and then asked to recover a family member, was about to do what he was about to do.

I growled, deep in my chest, reading his thoughts. There was no way I could let him get away with it.

 _Teddy, what is it?_

"We're not going alone. There's someone else who needs to come with us."

 _Oh … who?_

"That miscreant, _Professor Lockhart,_ " I sneered. "He was given this task, even if the others didn't believe he could do it, but instead of giving it a go, he's"—I snorted almost loud enough to catch his attention—"running away."

"No!" she gasped out loud. "He can't be allowed to do that. He has no honor, so we'll teach him some." The smile that crossed my little love's face was one of malicious intent.

Lockhart would learn some honor, or he would die trying. That much was for certain.

We took a few minutes to talk strategy before taking the corridor that led to his classroom, his office being inside that. I took the lead as we made our way up the stairs outside his door. By now, Isa could hear his frantic mutterings as he haphazardly threw his things into the several trunks that were inside.

 _He makes me sick_ , Isa thought to herself while she pulled her wand from the pocket in her robes. _Ugh, and this is one of the things I'm going to fix over the summer._

I snickered quietly at her disgruntled frown. Wands were harder to get to in our robes than in our pockets, but Isa's idea for where to keep them had merit. But I noticed a lot of her thoughts did. If they worked, they'd transform the wizarding world.

I placed a soft kiss to Isa's forehead, and after getting a small nod from her for reassurance, I spun to face Lockhart's door. With a growl loud enough to startle him and rattle his paintings on the walls, I barged through his locked door. _Huh, it seemed magic had no chance against brute force._ Lockhart spun around, reaching for his wand just as I slid to the side, allowing Isa entrance. Because she had her wand raised, she was already at the advantage; although, I'm pretty sure that, even if she hadn't, she would have beaten him by a mile.

The illustrious professor was actually rather slow.

"Expelliarmus!" Isa said, waving her wand at Lockhart. Her spell hit its intended target, causing his wand to fly out of his hand toward Isa, which she deftly caught left-handed. Instead of lowering her wand, Isa kept it pointed at Lockhart's head, and by the time he tilted his head in my direction, mine had joined it.

"Well, well, well, what have we here? Our resident celebrity, teacher of all things dark, running off in the face of a little danger?" Isa smirked at my tone. I couldn't have sounded more sarcastic if I'd tried.

"What's wrong, professor? Can't live up to your own hype?"

Lockhart's thoughts were all over the place. Well, when he could actually get a clear one through because most of them were either sputtering or stunned into silence.

"I think it's time you showed us your talents, sir, and what better way than facing the monster in the Chamber of Secrets." I watched as his face turned a sickly green color thanks to my words, but what I said had unlocked his voice box.

"But … but I d-don't know w-where it i-is!"

Isa snickered, quite evilly I might add. "Well, it's a good thing we do. We also know what's in it, but that's for you to find out when we get there. Time to face the consequences of your actions for telling all those fabrications."

It was Isa's implications that his stories were lies that truly opened up his mind and showed me what he had been hiding since the beginning of his endeavors. What I read caused me to growl louder than when I had burst through the door.

"You filthy, lying little weasel. How dare you take credit for something someone else had done?" Isa's mouth dropped open at what I was saying; her mind had almost gone blank. "If it takes me the next hundred years, I'll make sure that every person you have robbed of their memories, their stories, gets full credit. You are finished, do you hear me? Finished!"

Lockhart nodded but it was Isa who caught the ever so slight movement of his eyes toward a case that was placed inside his trunk. She made her way over to it while I maneuvered Lockhart away from the desk. I was standing behind him with my wand at his throat and my hand clamped tightly on his shoulder.

"You know," I whispered into his ear. I wanted to frighten him, hoping it would stop him doing anything stupid. "One movement with my hand and you'd have a broken collarbone; a quick tilt of my head and a yank back on your shoulder will put your throat right at my mouth. I may not have touched human blood in nearly eighty years, but that doesn't mean I won't make an exception for you. Although, you might just succeed in making a vampire sick."

 _Now, Teddy, that's not very nice, scaring the human like that._ Isa smirked as Lockhart's heart rate shot up; it was so fast it nearly sounded like a hummingbird. She pulled the case from Lockhart's trunk and placed it on the desk. She tried opening it first but found it to be locked. _Duh, didn't see that little lock there. Did you want to search him for a key?_ I shook my head; the less I had to touch him the better. _Okie dokie._ "Alohomora."

The top of the case lifted slightly when the locking mechanism came undone; with one last look in our direction, Isa reached out and opened the case. It opened like an old makeup or jewelry case, or even a tackle box. The lid was on a series of levers or hinges, which when lifted, pulled up several more layers from below. I could see that each of the layers had many little squares inside them, and in each of the squares was a bottle marked with a name, date, and adventure. On the top layer, instead of the bottles, was a pensieve, or at least, what I thought was a pensieve, but it was made out of a mirror. That was odd because all the ones I'd seen were made out of glass or ceramic.

Isa passed over the pensieve and pulled up a bottle. "Regina Moslap, February 3rd 1954, The Wailing Werewolves." She went through a few more until she found one that was labeled for one of the tales Lockhart was so famous for. "These are the memories you've stolen to make your own, aren't they?"

When Lockhart failed to answer, I gripped his shoulder a little harder, causing it to crack under my hold. He wailed before I let up. "Yes …" he panted. "Every single one in there is a memory."

"What's with the odd pensieve?" I growled in his ear.

"It's a mirror sieve, something of my own design," he squeaked out before I could hurt him some more. "Instead of falling into the memory as a bystander watching it, you become the person of the memory. The person who is reflected in the mirror, in which they are watching, becomes that person in the memory. Quite ingenious, if I say so ..." he trailed off at our disgusted faces. "It made it easier to write the stories."

Isa's eyebrows shot up. She was fascinated by it; in fact, she wanted to study it. Right then. I chuckled at her thoughts.

"Not now, my girl. We have an adventure to go on. But that will make it easier to give back their memories. I'll advise Dumbledore that the best place to keep it is with the other mirror, okay?"

"Okay, Teddy. Something tells me that a basement will need to be built to house all manner of things. But first, let's go get Ginny."

"And stop a monster, once and for all."

Isa walked out of Lockhart's office knowing we would follow behind her. I forced Lockhart to walk in the middle of us after warning him not to do anything stupid because I could catch him faster than he could raise his hand to scratch his nose.

We carefully made our way toward the girls' bathroom, only to be jolted out of the quiet by Peeves. He was on a higher level, creating havoc, thanks to Jasper. It seemed that corporeal ghosts could still be influenced by emotions. And Jasper was having a lot of fun making Peeves more aggravating than normal. In fact, because Peeves was acting out, it was causing the Bloody Baron to try to control him, but in the process sent all the ghosts into a tailspin. Esme was even getting in on the act, only she'd gone a different route and recruited the house elves, with help from Kreacher, to make sure everyone and everything was kept away from the first floor.

We all paused when we made it to the juncture where the two corridors met in front of the bathroom. Looking up at the wall, the message was clear and also written in blood. This time, though, it wasn't animal blood. Somehow, whoever was doing this had gotten a hold of Ginny's blood and written the message on the wall.

 _They will rue the day they did this to my friend,_ Isa thought to herself as she marched forward with a renewed purpose and forced the door open with a loud bang. I wasn't even sure she'd touched it, and I was proven right when she looked back at us and her eyes were lit up again. This time, rather than finding it disturbing, I beamed because it showed how truly powerful my girl was with her magic.

Lockhart was shuddering in his shoes. His thoughts, which had been fearful before, had become downright terrified at the sight of Isa in all her magical glory.

I snorted. "And you were supposed to be someone we should worship. I'm so glad that ship is going to be sailing, and you'll be proven for the fraud you are." I poked him in the back with my wand. "Now, get a move on."

Isa was already talking to Myrtle by the time I'd forced Lockhart into the doorway. Isa, of course, knew we were there, but our interruption shocked Myrtle. So much so, that she forgot her fear and spoke to me for the first time.

"What are you doing in the girls' bathroom?"

"We need some information, Myrtle. Something only you can give to us."

The young ghost looked down to Isa when she had spoken. The look on her face was complete confusion, and I could imagine that she had no idea what we wanted from her.

"What information could you possibly need from me?"

"I … that is we," Isa motioned to Lockhart and me behind her. "Would like to know how you died. If it's not too painful for you."

Myrtle flew up and sat on the ledge of the circular, frosted window that was above the toilet stalls. One of her hands landed on her mouth while the other pulled on the sleeve of her uniform.

"School was hard for me, you know?" she said, looking back at us and waiting until we'd acknowledged she'd spoken before she turned back to the window. "I wasn't popular. In fact, the kids made fun of me because of how I looked, how I spoke, and because I was shier than most everyone here …"

"Kids can be very cruel, Myrtle," I sympathized. "I've been to school a lot, and the children are the same everywhere we go."

She gave me a small smile in gratitude for what I was saying. "I've heard the stories about you and your family, Edward. They truly fascinate me; please accept my apology for not getting to know you as well as your mate."

"None needed. We can do that at a later time."

Myrtle nodded, turning back to the window again. "It had been a particularly horrible day, the children seemed meaner, and the teachers weren't doing anything about it. I came in here after dinner in the Great Hall to cry, hiding myself in that toilet over there," she pointed down to one near her. "I had just finished wiping my nose when the door slammed open, and I heard a boy start muttering in what sounded like a funny, made up language. I came out to ask him to leave the bathroom, then that was it. I died. No gory story; I just dropped dead."

"Oh, Myrtle. How terrible for you," Isa cooed. "Do you remember anything else?"

I used the techniques Cortesia had taught me and managed to find some semblance of thoughts from Myrtle.

"The only other thing I remember is a pair of glowing, yellow eyes, over there, by that sink." She pointed to a circular stand of sinks at the opposite end of the room she was sitting in.

"Thank you, Myrtle. We appreciate everything you've told us here today. After this is finished, we'll come talk to you some more, okay?"

"Thank you, Bella." Myrtle then flung herself into the air before completing a beautiful dive into one of the toilets.

Once she was gone, Isa ran over to the sinks where I was standing. I watched, keeping an eye and hand on Lockhart as she searched all over the ones that Myrtle had pointed at before looking at me.

"Say something, Teddy. Maybe it's voice activated."

I felt a little ridiculous but did as I was told. "Open sesame!" I felt even more ridiculous when it didn't work. Isa went back to examining the sinks while I continued—despite my feelings—to run through every password I knew. Including password! I even tried to command it with "open up."

"Eureka!" Isa shouted after few more minutes. "It is voice activated, but not with English." I looked at her as she ran her fingers over something on the faucet before looking at me with an expectant look on her face. "C'mon, Teddy, what was the one thing that made Salazar Slytherin stand out? What's the one thing that you and Harry can do but nobody else can?"

There was a moment of complete silence before I almost slapped my own forehead. "Talk to snakes in Parseltongue. Duh. So, it only stands to reason that the person wanting to open the chamber and talk to a giant snake would do so speaking …"

"Parseltongue," Isa and I both finished together.

I thought through all the different things I'd said this afternoon, but one kept nagging me, so in the tongue of Salazar Slytherin I said, "Open Up!"

We all waited to see what was going to happen. I was pretty sure Lockhart had even stopped breathing. I was about to say something else in Parseltongue when there was a loud click from deep inside the grouping of sinks.

"Oh, my God," Isa breathed, taking a step backward as the sinks moved outward slightly, enough to loosen the large slab of marble on the top. Once it started to lift, she spun to me, held my hand, and started jumping up and down. "It worked. We found it! We found the Chamber of Secrets. We've done what only the heir of Slytherin has ever done. We're going to find and save Ginny!"

"We are, baby girl." I watched as the sinks moved back into position, bar one, which slid that little bit farther in before slowly lowering into the floor. "Be ready for anything."

There in front of us was a pipe in the floor about the width of Emmett. It had been concealed by the sinks. Isa inched forward and peeked over the lip.

"What do you see?"

She shook her head. "Not a whole lot. It's like going to get the Philosopher's Stone all over again. But this time because the pipe bends off to the right, not because it's too dark."

"Y-y-you two s-saved the castle l-l-last year?" Lockhart stuttered from next to me, causing both Isa and I to look over at him. We both nodded. "Well then, w-what do you n-need m-me f-for?"

Isa laughed at the evil smirk that crossed my face before she stepped out of the way. I gave Lockhart one good shove, and he ended up standing where we had to lower ourselves into the pipe. "We need a soft place to land." I laughed at his face before I quickly stepped forward and lifted him up by his robes at his neck, much like a mother cat does to her kittens. He started to beg and plead like a coward; he didn't want to go down there; he wanted me to let him go. "Oh, I'm going to let you go all right." I held him over the opening and let him go, chuckling when I heard him scream as he slid down the pipe.

"That was mean, Teddy. Let's just hope he can move out of the way fast enough."

I laughed before kissing her head. "See you down there, Isa." And with that, I jumped into the hole after him.

~*~UHS~*~

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 **Ohhh Lockhart, what have you gotten yourself into? Raise your hand if you thought our favortie couple would try teaching him a lesson?**

 **Thank you for reading, see you in a fortnight.**


	12. Chapter Eleven - Solving the Riddle

**Hello everyone! It's posting day! I just want to let you know that so far I've been able to find time for my writing while going to school, so I'm not too far behind. The third story is coming along nicely.**

 **Thank you to Pienuniek and Sally Hopkinson for all of their hard work keeping me in line, and the chapters pretty. I'd be lost without the both of them.**

 **Harry Potter and Twilight belong to JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer, I'm just having a ball combining them. No copyright infringement is intended.**

 **See me at the bottom.**

* * *

 **12 – Chapter Eleven – Solving the Riddle**

Instead of a fall into the unknown, this year we were sliding down a pipe into the bowels of the castle. I couldn't believe that the chamber had been there all this time and nobody had ever found it; it certainly hadn't been that hard to find it. But I suppose we did have advantages that no one else had ever had, such as Harry and I understanding Parseltongue.

I could hear Isa sliding down behind me, and even though she knew what was going on, she was having fun. There was nothing like finding the fun side of life, and she not only did that for herself, she was teaching me how to as well. There was a thump and some crunching from beneath me, letting me know that Lockhart had made it to the bottom. His thoughts revealed he was scared out of his mind and totally grossed out at the situation he found himself in. I didn't realize why until I shot out of the end of the pipe.

Thanks to a small lift at the end of the pipe, I was able to land on my feet, but what I landed on was worse than I thought. There seemed to be hundreds, if not thousands, of skeletons all over the floor. These had to be what the basilisk had been feeding on during the time it had been down here.

I was just about to look around but Isa shot out of the end of the pipe. She was also able to use the lift to land on her feet, though her reaction to landing on the bones had me chuckling.

 _Eeww. This is really disgusting. They are animal bones, right?_

I nodded, knowing she was looking at me but not answering with a verbal reply. I didn't want to give anything away to Lockhart. When I turned to walk away through the tunnel on the opposite side, torches placed at irregular intervals burst into life. The effect was such that it cast an eerie glow all around us. The tunnel was tall enough that I only had to stoop a little. I watched through Isa's thoughts as she turned to our tag-along and pointed her wand at him.

"Off you go, _sir_ ," she sneered. "Wouldn't want you to miss a moment of this; have to get it right for your next book. Oh, that's right, there won't be another one."

I snorted at her condescending tone but only kept a precautionary watch on them in the back corner of my mind. The reason for that was I had just stumbled onto proof of what we were hunting. It was a snakeskin, and probably the longest one I had ever seen. I was trying to work out how long it was, and if I had to guess, it was about thirty feet in length. I was stunned into silence at what we were facing; it just didn't seem real that there was something like this under our school.

"W-what i-i-is that?" Lockhart stuttered.

"This would be the monster that we are chasing," I answered in a careful, neutral tone. I didn't want to make him immobile from fear, but I didn't want Isa to know I was more than a little worried. "If you had been half the teacher you thought you were, you would know what this is."

"Then why are we still standing here. We should be running away!" Lockhart screamed, trying to do just that. He spun only to come face to face with a very angry Isa. Her eyes had started to glow again. "Move or it's going to kill us!"

She laughed at him. It was a slow, methodical laugh, but one that seemed to freeze Lockhart where he stood. He may have frozen but he was still shaking hard from the fear that was coursing through his veins.

"What are you laughing at?" he demanded, causing me to look up sharply at him. Isa caught my eye but shook her head.

 _I'll handle this; you keep investigating,_ she told me before looking back to Lockhart. "You are an idiot." I should have scolded her for name-calling, but I just couldn't find it in me to care. "Had you actually looked at that thing there, you'd realize it was a skin, not the actual monster. So settle down."

Lockhart collapsed. Either the fear got to him or the adrenaline from confronting Isa did, and when she told him to settle down, the relief was too much and he just dropped.

"Braveheart the bold, pfft," Isa scoffed. She peered closer at him, and I knew she could hear his heartbeat flying in his chest. "Shame; I really wanted to scare him some more." I chuckled at her while she came over to stand next to me, inspecting the basilisk skin. "This thing is huge."

I nodded but said nothing as we continued to look over the skin for anything we could use against it. We were quiet and as such could tell when Lockhart started coming around. Neither of us paid him that much attention. I did notice when Lockhart started to come up behind us, but I thought that he was going to use us as a shield and stay behind us, so I wasn't concentrating on his thoughts. I had placed my wand into my back pocket when I'd landed from my slide; I hadn't thought it would be a problem because I hadn't factored in Lockhart's stupidity.

It turned out to be a mistake, on _his_ behalf.

Without thought, he lunged toward me and pulled the wand from my pocket. He was, however, not that smart. Isa and I turned to face him, and instead of producing a spell, he just stood there, looking at us with a smug look on his arrogant face. Well, that was until he opened his mouth.

"Don't move that wand arm, Miss Swan. Can't have you firing on a teacher, now can we?" It was a rhetorical question, and we knew that, not that it stopped Isa answering silently.

 _Oh, don't worry, professor, I wouldn't dream of it._ Here she added an internal snort. _Not that I need to since Teddy's wand won't work for you. Although, try firing a spell at me, and I'll retaliate._

"I'm the one in control here, and it would be in your best interest to just stop what you're doing. We're going to have a little chat, and you're going to listen." Here he paused, gathering his thoughts, if what was going on in his head was anything to go by. Isa and I just stood there waiting with our arms crossed and little smirks on our faces. "You don't know what it was like being me growing up. While being magical, I was less than average, but I always dreamed of being this big adventurer. Solving riddles and puzzles that nobody else could …"

 _Blah, blah, blah. Everything is always about him, isn't it?_

I choked out a short laugh but covered it with a cough when Lockhart looked over before he continued his poor-me monologue.

"I think his whole life has been about him, Isa," I whispered at vampire pitch. "Even his childhood was all about him."

 _Ugh, his poor parents._

"It wasn't until I reached my last few years of schooling that I found out how gifted I was with memory charms. And it was there, during my last year of school, that I figured out how to use it to my advantage. Many of the students around me had wild stories and memories of growing up and going on fantastic adventures, and that was how my first book came about. _Fantastical Memories of Growing Up Magical,_ " he sighed, looking wistful.

His thoughts, however, showed exactly what he had done to some of his classmates. I was absolutely disgusted. How could he have done this to someone else, let alone that he'd done it to people he'd known?

"After the success of my experiments, I traveled all over the world, meeting wizards and witches alike. I learned their stories, listened, and took notes." Here he smirked; it was dark and evil and just this side of the people I used to hunt.

 _He disgusts me. He enjoyed taking away those memories and any pain that it gave them and their families._ The look on Isa's face was horrified; she couldn't fathom that someone could do this. _He would make a great death eater._ I nodded to her thoughts.

Lockhart never noticed our silent conversation, so lost in his memories as he was. He shook himself out of it, thinking that he didn't want to give us a chance to take the wand from him. What he didn't know was that we were letting him hang himself; our memories would be proof of his crimes, and I couldn't wait to show the world.

"But enough of my memories. Don't worry; the world _will_ know what happened here. How I was too late to save the girl, how you two lost your minds finding her body, and how I barely escaped with my life after the monster killed you both." At this, Isa and I snorted; he didn't seem to understand that we were immortal. "And if you are to survive being left down here to die, then you won't remember it, at all." He did a simple twist of his hand one-hundred and eighty-degrees and blurted out, "Obliviate!"

 _Looks like we'll learn this spell sooner than later,_ Isa thought as we just stood there looking at Lockhart with contempt.

"Why isn't it working?" Lockhart yelled in frustration.

"Because that wand only works for me or Isa," I stated with clear enough conviction that it stopped Lockhart dead in his tracks. "That wand was made just for me by a master wand maker that goes by the name of Virgulo Opifex." Something flickered through his mind at that name, mostly jealousy, but there was something else, something I'd have to analyze later.

Lockhart threw my wand toward me in a fit of rage before pacing away from us. I was quick but Isa was quicker because as I picked it up she'd copied the movement Lockhart had made.

"Obliviate!" she growled. Because she was pissed off and horrified at what Lockhart had done, she'd put more oomph into her spell than normal. It shot out of her wand at an alarming speed and hit him so hard that it flung him back into the rock wall behind him, knocking him out cold. But that wasn't even the biggest problem. No, the biggest problem was the large crack we heard when he hit. Then it was the rumble that followed.

"Oh, shit," I swore, knowing I would regret that later but pulled Isa underneath me to protect her from the rock fall she'd accidentally started. After a while, I realized we weren't getting pelted by the stone as I'd expected and looked up. Isa's shield must have shot out when she knew what was happening and protected us. Slowly, I allowed her out from beneath me, and we stood looking around at the destruction her spell had caused.

"Um … I think that was a little strong," she mumbled.

I snorted into a laugh, then let it go. Once I'd settled down, I turned to see she had a contrite expression on her face. "You think, sweet girl?" I asked with a chuckle laced through my question. I looked around again only to find that I couldn't see Lockhart anywhere. "What about our professor?"

"He's safe in a separate bubble over there somewhere." Isa pointed to another section of rock where Lockhart had landed that was rounder than the other piles around us.

"Good." I looked up to see that the rock had piled up around us but not on top, the roundness of the bubble had made it slide down the sides. "Can you push the rock aside before releasing your shield so it doesn't drop on us or Lockhart?"

"I can do that and do one better for _him_." Isa raised her hands above her head in the prayer position. From what I could see in her mind, the bubbles of her shield—both the one on us and the one over Lockhart—became pointed, making the rocks that were still on the top slide off. It left the top of Lockhart's cell open for him to breathe.

What Isa did next completely shocked me. She must have worked harder on her shield than I thought because she reached forward and, with two hands, lifted the section of rock in front of us with her shield. It gave us a way out of our pile, and as she placed more rock around Lockhart, it made sure that he couldn't go anywhere and get lost before we got back with Ginny.

I listened to Lockhart as she sealed him in his rocky tower. He was waking up, but his thoughts weren't making any sense. They were muddled and childlike.

"That should hold him," Isa said when she was done, pulling me from my observations.

I looked up at the structure Isa had created. It was a work of art. "Why a tower?"

"Because I couldn't make a gilded cage."

"Miss Marie, is that you?"

Isa and I looked at each other, both of us confused by the childlike voice that came from the other side of the rock wall.

"Miss Marie, where am I? I'm scared."

 _What's going on with Lockhart?_

I held up a finger to let her know to wait a minute. I listened to the very childlike thoughts going through Lockhart's brain as I picked up my wand. "I think … I think you may have removed more than a few memories from his brain with your spell, Isa. Like maybe the last twenty or so years' worth."

 _Oops._ She snickered slightly. _That'll make giving back memories easier, nobody to counteract what we're saying._

"Miss Marie? Are you there?" the high-pitched trembling voice of Lockhart wailed out from behind the rock wall.

I leaned down to whisper in Isa's ear. "You should answer him. Miss Marie was his Veela nanny back when he was a child."

Then in a voice I'd never heard from Isa, she spoke to Lockhart only. "Don't you worry, little one," she started, her voice strangely hypnotic. I could tell from Lockhart's mind that it seemed to set him at ease. "We're in the place of dreams, of nightmares. Just close your eyes and sleep. All will be well when you wake up again; I promise."

Funny enough, Lockhart calmed enough from Isa's voice to fall right to sleep on the hard and jagged rocks surrounding him.

"What was that?"

Isa shrugged her shoulders. "Something to do with my Veela side, I think. I suppose it's the voice they use to get men to do what they want. Come on; we have to save Ginny."

Isa grabbed my hand and towed me farther along the tunnel we had found ourselves in. Walking along, the torches lit up the carcasses, giving them a gleam. The eye sockets were cast into darkness from the shadows, and sometimes, I swore I could see little yellow eyes peering out of them before I shook my head. I had to be seeing things.

 _Oh nooooo!_ Isa's thoughts burst into my head. _What's that?_ She let go of my hand and ran off into a darker section.

I turned my head in the direction she went to see what had caught her attention, only to find the skeleton of an animal I'd never seen before. "Isa, be careful! You don't know what's hiding here!"

One side of the skeleton seemed to glow in the dark while the other was in deep shadow; the fact that it was easily the biggest one here showed just how menacing this monster was. It could take down an animal the size of a large horse.

"Oh, Teddy, this is bad. Very bad."

"What is? What is this?"

"Come look." I walked around to the dark side where Isa was standing to find a collection of bones that shouldn't be there, and I couldn't work out what they were; not only that, but on closer inspection, the skull seemed to be that of a bird with a very large beak. Isa must have seen the confused look on my face. "This is the skeleton of a Hippogriff, another of the world's most majestic animals."

 _Hippogriff? Hippogriff?_ "Half horse, half eagle? They get to this size?"

Isa ran her hand on the animal's head before she turned to look up at me. "Yes, this is a fully grown one. I'm scared. The basilisk was able to take down something of this size, and it flies, Teddy! How are we supposed to beat something like that?"

"We do our best, sweet girl," I said as I dropped down and pulled her into my arms, placing a kiss on her head. "It's all we can do; being the immortal creatures we are might give us an advantage though."

"Let's hope so," she murmured, running her hand over the head again before standing back up.

I followed suit before taking her hand this time and leading her down the tunnel. She stood behind me, clinging to my arm as the shadows loomed all around us. The tunnel sloped downward at a slight angle; we could hear dripping water, just adding to the creepiness that I'm sure Salazar Slytherin had been going for. Just before we were to head around a corner, we'd slowed to listen, making sure there wasn't anything waiting for us. Isa let out a blood-curdling scream and let go of my arm. I spun around to find her swiping at her head and jumping up and down.

"What? What is it?"

"Something landed on my head! Get it off; get it off!"

I tried for a few minutes to get close to her but with her jumping around I couldn't get close enough. "Isa, I can't see if you don't stop moving!"

She paused, whimpering, but let me have a look. I ran my hands through the back of her hair first, in case, whatever it was, had moved with all of her frantic movements before inspecting the top of her head. I'd made it halfway along her skull before I encountered something and froze.

"What? What is it? Am I going to die?"

"No," I let out a large breath, letting go of the anxiety she'd made bloom in my chest. "No, it was just a drop of water, sweetheart. Just water; you're okay."

I pulled her into my arms as she started to cry just a little. She had to release the anxiety she was feeling. "Are you okay to continue?"

Isa pulled back and looked me dead in the eye. She'd composed herself and pulled on the strength I knew was inside of her. "Yes. Ginny is one of my best friends. We're going to save her."

I nodded. "We are."

After listening again for a minute, we walked around the corner and found that the tunnel ended at a large round door. The door itself wouldn't have been remarkable in any way, apart from being down here under the school, if it wasn't for the fact that it was locked with what seemed to be five stone snakes. At five points around the door, metal hoops stuck out of the rock. Each hoop was clamped in the mouth of one of the snakes.

Isa and I crept toward it; we wanted to investigate but were unsure what would happen if we got too close.

"That looks like a tunnel exit or entrance," Isa murmured, pointing at a dome shape at the bottom of the door. In fact, it ran around the whole left side, covering what I thought was the hinges.

"What do you wanna bet that something needs to be said in Parseltongue to open it?"

Isa snorted. "Considering the bathroom, I'd be a sucker to take that bet."

Both unsure about what would happen once I'd said the correct phrase, we both took half a dozen steps backward. We didn't know what Salazar Slytherin had planned for his chamber.

"What should I say this time?"

"I think you should just go with the same word; it worked before."

I nodded, concentrating on the door. "Open," I hissed in Parseltongue.

We waited for a few seconds, hearing nothing, and just as I was opening my mouth to say something else, there was a metallic click and the sound of stone grinding on stone. Isa and I froze, with our mouths open, as another large green snake wound its way around the door, unclamping the mouths of the other snakes from the rings and pushing them back into the center. Each mouth dislodged caused an unholy screech followed by a resounding thunk. When all the snakes had been loosened from their clamps and the green snake finished its circular route by disappearing into the hinges again, the five snakes slithered back with that creepy grinding noise.

But none of that was as loud, or ominous, or hurt our ears as much as the groan that the door made when all was said and done. The dark tunnel that was revealed behind it was lit sparingly by the same kind of lanterns as those we already passed. The whole set-up only increased the trepidation we were feeling.

 _Well, that was creepy._

"Uh huh. Certainly made me want to go down there," I said with a little sarcasm as a shiver ran down my spine.

Isa looked up at my face to see whether I was telling the truth or not before she snorted. _Yeah, about as much as I want to get a tooth pulled._

I reached out my hand for Isa's, waiting for her to give me hers. "No time like the present."

 _Let's go. My molars are calling to me._

This time, it was my turn to snort before I stepped over the lip of the door, leading us into the dark.

~*~UHS~*~

More lanterns lit up once we'd stepped over the threshold, but it didn't make the experience any less creepy. The corridor that we'd stepped into was the perfect archway, but it was what lay alongside the narrow pathway that caused a shudder to run through me, an almost violent one, because there, every ten feet, lit from behind, was the statue of a snake. Now snakes don't usually bother me all that much, but these? These were huge. Standing at least twelve feet high, way above our heads, with mouths wide open, tongues hanging out, and fangs on display. They were so lifelike that I felt like they were going to hiss and lunge at any given moment if we made the wrong move, and I could see them all the way along the path.

I hadn't realized that I'd stopped and hunched over into a hunting crouch to protect myself and Isa until she'd caught up with me and pulled on my robes to get my attention. Even once I'd stood, I reached back to grab her hand, again, because she was clinging to me for all she was worth.

 _Salazar Slytherin really liked snakes, didn't he?_

I nodded, then realized she wasn't looking at me but at the statues on either side of our walkway. "That he did, baby girl. Maybe because he was the only one who could talk to them?"

 _Maybe,_ she thought, still looking at the snakes standing on their tails. _Does it look like the eyes are following us?_

I noticed a slight decline in the path when I turned to look. While creepy with the yellow stones for eyes that seemed to be lit from within, they weren't following us. Though I would not have been surprised. "No, sweetheart. It's just your mind playing tricks on you. If they creep you out that much, don't look."

She focused on the back of my head as she followed me. The path we were on really wasn't that wide. Her thoughts were creeped out, scared, worried, and angry all at once. She flickered between them so fast that sometimes even I had trouble keeping up.

The path started to become steeper as I turned around to face her. I spoke, placing my hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes. "I know this is scary, Isa, because I'm scared too. But you can't let that get the better of you. Focus on your anger, focus it at the person who deserves it, and use it in the fight that we know is coming. Because Riddle isn't going to let Ginny go without one."

"We're going to have to face the basilisk too, aren't we?"

I stood, not wanting to lie to her. "I believe so. He's going to use everything in his arsenal."

Isa grabbed my hand then pointed behind me. "Then let's give him what he's waiting for."

~*~UHS~*~

We were quiet as we followed a never-ending pathway deeper into the mountain under the castle. The statues continued until we came to the end of it. The pathway started widening into what seemed to be an amphitheater. There were large steps that could be used for seating, leading down to a shallow pool at the bottom. At the far back, opposite the entrance we came through, was another statue. This one, though, was not of a snake but of a person. It towered over us. This person was dressed in robes similar to what other witches or wizards wore, with a wand in one hand and a ring on the other. He was standing in a relaxed, defensive pose. Farther up, there was a stone replica of a necklace with a snake emblazoned on it, almost covered up by a very impressive beard. His whole face was arrogant, like he knew something we didn't, but the smirk that was almost hidden by his beard transformed his face. It went from arrogant to something completely evil, causing a shudder to run down my back.

But it was the eyes that drew my attention. Instead of the yellow stone that had been in the snakes, this one had green, and they were carved into multifaceted round stones that reflected what light there was from the torches high above our heads. The head was also covered in a large array of curls—long curls, the whole thing making up what I assumed to be Salazar Slytherin.

This statue creeped me out more than the snakes; there was something so off putting about it.

All of it held my attention until Isa dropped my hand with an earth-shattering cry. "Noooooo, Ginny!"

I hadn't even noticed that she had started walking alongside me to start with because I had been so taken in with the size of the cavern we were now standing in. But with her cry, she bolted away from my side, down the stairs, and off to the side where Ginny's body was lying. I had missed it in my perusal, and I felt terrible for that.

"Isa, wait," I called, chasing after her. "Be careful!"

Isa slid to her knees next to Ginny. She was lying on her stomach with one hand out in front of her, like she'd had her wand in her hand, and her face turned to the side. Isa's hands fluttered around Ginny's head, smoothing out her hair and calling to her. Carefully, I rolled her onto her back, trying not to move her too much in case there was damage, and then checking to find her pulse.

I looked up at Isa as I took my cloak off to give Ginny some more warmth. "She's alive, Isa. Barely, but her pulse is there. She's freezing, so we'll have to try and warm her up."

Isa nodded with a few tears on her cheeks, pulling off her cloak as well so we could wrap them around her.

"You're early," a voice echoed through the theater, and I briefly wondered if the statue had spoken. "Hey! Who are you?"

We both stood and turned to face where the voice had come from.

"Ah, Tom Riddle, again we meet," I sneered.

That brought him up short. "What do you mean? I've never met you."

I chuckled, but it wasn't a happy sound. Crossing my arms, I looked over to the young man who would one day become the most feared dark wizard of all time. "No, you haven't. But the run down, barely living, shadow of a man that you have become has tried to go up against me once before …"

"And guess what?" Isa brought his attention to her. "He lost."

"No!" Riddle growled. "There is no way he was defeated by you … you …"

Isa and I smirked at the fact that young Tom Riddle was so disturbed by the fact he was beaten that he couldn't finish his thought.

"Now, what have you done to Ginny?"

It was Riddle's turn to smirk. I looked him over as he contemplated whether he was going to answer or not. The figure that stood before us was not a full human being; he seemed to be partly transparent, and he blurred around the edges, like he wasn't really there. I wasn't sure we would be able to touch him. I wasn't sure he was actually in this plane of existence.

"I haven't done anything to Ginny. She did this to herself."

I growled low but loud. "Don't argue semantics, Riddle. You were a part of this; now explain how!"

Riddle just stood there, enjoying the fact that he had the advantage over us. I couldn't even use my mind reading on him because he didn't seem to be a sentient being.

While I had been checking out Riddle, Isa had been looking around the chamber. She spotted something that had been near Ginny that we must have missed when we were focused on her earlier. She left my side and walked over to Ginny, catching Riddle's attention, but it was his reaction to Isa picking up the object that caught my interest.

"Here, Teddy." Isa handed a book over to me. She'd noticed his reaction as well.

"Don't touch that," Riddle grumbled.

"Why? What has this got to do with anything, and what are you?"

Riddle smiled and spread his arms wide, like a game show host. "Me? I am nothing but a memory. A memory stored in a diary for fifty years."

I kept an eye on Riddle through Isa's eyes; she watched him, trying to figure out how he'd started to manifest. I, however, looked down at the diary. It was the same one Isa and Hermione had found in the girls' bathroom, the same one Ginny had stolen back when she'd discovered we'd had it.

"This is how you were doing it, wasn't it? You somehow gained Ginny's trust by talking to her in this diary, like you showed Isa that memory of you framing Hagrid, and then you used that friendship against her by getting her to do your bidding. Right?" I looked up sharply as I asked my questions to see his reaction, and from the slight widening of his eyes before he tried to hide it, I knew I was right.

"Oh, how could you do that?" Isa asked quietly in a voice that would usually bring forth anyone's guilt. But not Riddle.

He chuckled, but it wasn't a happy sound; it was a condescending one. "How could I not? It was surprisingly easy to gain her trust. I just had to listen to the very boring, very inconsequential problems of a pre-teen girl worried about how she's going to fit in to a school that has seen too many members of her family before her. Whether she's going to make friends or even one day have a boyfriend. From there, the more she used the diary, the more she gave of herself, the more power I gained. It wasn't long until I gained enough to start controlling her; she just never knew it was happening.

"Eventually, though, she became scared, scared of what the diary could do, the power it had over her, and she tried to get rid of it. And then, who should get a hold of it but you." He pointed at Isa. "I knew you weren't human, but I couldn't get a grasp on what you are while you were within the diary. I knew, though, that if I could get you to interact with me, then I could become that much more powerful than if I was sucking the life from Ginny here …" At this, he cackled, and it was a truly evil sound. It made me shudder like when someone runs their nails down a chalkboard. Isa and I both growled at the thought of Riddle using her life force to further his return back to the world; it caused him to cackle that much harder.

"But then this silly little girl decided to take back the diary, worried about what I would tell you when she saw you with it …"

Riddle continued to ramble, so much so that I tuned him out. Sure, I'd analyze what he had to say later, but I was also being distracted by the fact that the more he rambled, the clearer his thoughts became.

 _Are we letting him ramble for a reason?_ I nodded to Isa's question because she was getting bored with him also.

Once his thoughts were clear enough, I interrupted his monologue. "Riddle, who were you waiting for when we first came in?"

He was irritated due to my interruption; you could see it all over his face. This sixteen-year-old Voldemort wasn't as skilled in hiding his reactions as the fully-grown one trying to come back from his half-existence.

"It's none of your business, pest." To my surprise, a vague image started to take shape in the space were Riddle's thoughts had begun to form. It was an image I loathed—the image of a blond man I was becoming all too familiar with. I kept my growl at bay with great difficulty.

Isa noticed the change in me straight away but kept it to herself other than to think, _You know who he was waiting for._ It wasn't a question but a statement of fact. She didn't even want me to confirm. But it was her longing side-glance that got to me. _Ginny isn't waking up. What do we do?_

I was about to open my mouth, to do something—anything—to egg Riddle on when he interrupted me with a question I wasn't expecting. "Where is Harry Potter, hmm?"

Our mouths had dropped open at his question, but both of them slammed shut when he started to laugh once again. "The great Harry Potter is all but dead thanks to the monster in the Chamber of Secrets!"

I growled long and loud, garnering his attention. "What do you know of Harry Potter?"

The smile that Riddle let loose was creepy. It was something reminiscent of what I'd seen on Aro of the Volturi in Carlisle's memories. One that meant unspeakable horrors because you'd just fallen for his trap; one that would mean death to anyone who crossed his path. It was as evil as one could truly get, and if Riddle displayed that at sixteen, well, I'd hate to think about the things he'd done by then.

Then he sneered. "What don't I know about the great Harry Potter? He's dead to the world, you know, but not to you, and not to a few people who know about him. It hasn't reached back to me, I'm sure, but one day, it will and I hope for your sake that he's prepared …"

Again, we let him ramble, Isa sitting back down next to Ginny, trying to keep her warm while I read Riddle's mind. The stronger the presence was in this world, the clearer his thoughts became. It seemed that Malfoy senor had been a very busy man; he was the previous owner of the diary and kept sixteen-year-old Riddle updated on everything going on, and then, of course, Ginny filled in the rest when she had taken ownership of it.

I'd heard enough, and Isa was getting angrier by the minute.

"Enough, Riddle. I don't want to hear any more of your pointless drivel; you're actually succeeding in giving a vampire a headache."

Riddle smirked. "I'll let that slip-up of my name pass, but that's only because I am the greatest wizard of all time."

Isa snorted loudly. "You may have turned into the darkest wizard since Grindelwald, but you are by no means the greatest. That mantle still lies with Dumbledore."

The murderous look that crossed Riddle's face had me taking a step in front of Isa and Ginny for their protection. There was no way I was going to let this specter or what-ever-he-was hurt them at all.

"You think you can st …." He was cut off by a loud squawk, a war cry from a very large bird.

We all spun to face the direction the call had come from to see a large blur of red and yellow come streaking into the amphitheater around us. It slowed when it reached us only to reveal Dumbledore's beautiful pet bird, Fawkes. He was a stunning creature, a magnificent phoenix that hovered above us only to drop something at Isa's feet.

Riddle burst out into that maniacal laughter once again. "This is what Dumbledore sends his champions? A song bird and an old hat?"

That was indeed what had come to us in the chamber. Fawkes had dropped the Sorting Hat at Isa's feet. _What are we going to do with that?_

"So, champions, let's see if you can beat the monster of the late, great Salazar Slytherin." Riddle then hissed out a string of words, in Parseltongue, that I could only hope to understand before turning to the statue in the background.

Isa and I followed his line of sight only to discover the mouth of the statue beginning to open. The sound was unbearable, worse than the sound of stone grinding stone when we opened the door. I couldn't describe the sound that it made; there just weren't words for it.

Fawkes screeched before taking off higher when something started moving inside the mouth. The wider the mouth opened, the more it moved. It wasn't until I saw something yellow glowing from within that I realized what it was.

"Close your eyes, Isa. Don't look at the yellow, glowing eyes!"

Isa and I split in different directions, her running off to find somewhere to hide while I grabbed a hold of Ginny and took her out of the line of fire. I had to make sure she wasn't going to be hurt any further. There was a loud splash, and I knew that the basilisk had landed. I checked on Isa to see that she was looking around for me, and once she had my attention, she pointed over to the other side of the pool.

 _Riddle is directing this thing. We need to distract him._

We both looked over at the man in question when he laughed again. "Speaking Parseltongue won't help you now! The basilisk will only answer to the true heir, and that's me!" His laughter that time was just this side of crazy. I'm not sure Tom Riddle was entirely sane. "Get them; kill them," he hissed in Parseltongue.

I placed Ginny behind a short wall at the top of the amphitheater, the one I used to lean against, then started using what I could to make my way toward Riddle. I kept the basilisk in my peripheral vision, noting that it wasn't tracking me as much it was Isa. That concerned me a little. I knew she was immortal, but that didn't mean she couldn't be hurt, and Riddle must have thought the same thing because the next thing I knew, he had a wand out and had aimed it at Isa. Where he got that, I didn't know, and I couldn't tell from his thoughts. But he had no thought about attacking me, just the one that he thought could give him more life power and pull him out of the diary faster.

I didn't even think; I just reacted. One minute, I'm watching him pull a wand on my sweet girl, the next I'm firing off one of the very spells we'd learned from Dumbledore this year from my own wand. I didn't even realize I'd pulled it from my pocket.

But it was enough. Enough of a distraction that Isa was able to take off around the side of the basilisk and for Riddle to turn his sights on me.

"I'm going to bury you two alive when I leave this place! No one will ever find you!"

"What is it with you people and not really understanding that Isa and I are immortal? I mean really, we could dig ourselves out. We have all the time in the world!" I shouted at him as I dodged a spell aimed my way.

We continued trading barbs and spells for the next few minutes. I spouted off spells that I didn't even know I'd mastered. My magical instinct took over, and let me tell you, my two instincts combined were a bit frightening to behold. I wasn't sure I was in complete control of either of them, and that scared me.

While I was inwardly freaking out about what was happening with my instincts—well, more about how I was able to recreate spells without actually having been taught them, and what spells I could possibly produce by accident—I was able to keep track of Isa through our link. She was keeping the basilisk busy but not looking at it; Isa knew to keep her face away.

I was never gladder that my mind could think of many different things at once as I was at that moment.

I'd just hidden behind an outcropping of rock when there was another screech from Fawkes and a mournful cry from the basilisk, causing all of us to look up. I couldn't believe my eyes; Fawkes was attacking the snake, pecking and clawing at the eyes of the basilisk.

"No!" Riddle screamed. "NO! Get away from it, you stupid bird!" Tom lifted the wand he had, which I noticed didn't seem to be firing the spells that he wanted, and aimed for Fawkes.

I couldn't let him hurt that bird, so after firing off another spell that seemed to go right through him, smashing into the rock wall behind him and spraying rock everywhere. "What's wrong, Riddle? Afraid now?"

He flung another spell my way. "Never! Just because the basilisk can't see, doesn't mean he can't hear your precious mate. She's never going to defeat it."

"Ha!" Isa laughed out. "That's what you think. Thank you, Professor Dumbledore!"

Riddle and I both turned to see what Isa was thanking the professor for only to see her pulling something long and shiny out of the Sorting Hat. It took a few seconds to realize what she had grabbed was a sword; the damn thing was nearly as long as she was tall, but she wielded it like a champion.

"There is nothing you can do now, Riddle. I'll take down your monster, and then we'll save Ginny. You will be just a memory!"

The fight really began in earnest. I made my way between Riddle and Isa before he could get any closer and started to really trade spells with him. The ones of his that hit me did about as much damage as the ones of mine that connected with him. Neither of us could make any headway, but at least, he was unable to hit Isa because every time he managed to send one in her direction, I was able to either deflect it or I took the hit myself.

"Do you really think you stand a chance against us? Especially considering we really are immortal? Something you've been wanting since you were our age?"

He gave off an approximation of a growl. "When I return, be it today or another day, I will be stronger than anyone can imagine, and I will be the immortal world leader. Everyone will fear me!"

"But it won't be today!" Isa called. Riddle looked up, his mouth dropping in shock.

I kept an eye on him but spun side on to see that Isa had managed to climb up to a higher ledge so she was on an even playing field with the basilisk. I watched in horror as the snake lurched at her, mouth open, fangs out, and hissing in anger. But Isa was stunning in all her magical glory. The yoga that she'd taken and continued through the year had really helped her to control her feelings, which then helped her to control her magic.

She was standing on the shelf of rock, her eyes lit from within, and brandishing that sword like she'd been doing it all her life. As the basilisk lunged for her, she lifted it high into the air, and before the basilisk knew what was happening, the sword pierced through the roof of his mouth and came out through the top of its head. A haunting wail echoed through the chamber while the basilisk jerked back in shock before flailing and collapsing in a heap in the shallow pool at the base of the statue.

All of that happened in the blink of an eye, but Isa dropping the sword and starting to collapse herself seemed to happen in slow motion. I ignored Riddle's gleeful laughter and sped underneath to catch her. She landed in my arms, still conscious and breathing but clearly injured.

"No, no, baby girl. It's okay; I'm here. You're going to be okay." I panicked as I placed her on the ground and searched her for the injury. It wasn't until I noticed a hole in the sleeve of her uniform that I pushed it up and found part of the basilisk fang stuck in it. I could see the venom trying to spread. "Isa, talk to me, sweetheart, please."

"Here," she hissed, putting her hand inside her robes and pulling out the diary that I must have dropped at some point. "Do it; pull the tooth out, and do it."

I hushed her, trying to get her to stop talking. But her mind opened up like a wildflower in bloom—I hadn't even felt it close, and she showed me that the best way to destroy the memory of Riddle was to destroy the book.

"I don't want to hurt you," I whispered into her ear, "and pulling that out is going to let the poison spread."

She chuckled weakly. "Immortal remember; I'll be okay. Do it, Edward, finish this version off."

I held her for a little bit longer, agonizing over what I had to do, only to become angry at the fact that Riddle was laughing behind us still, and the longer I took, the louder he laughed.

"I told you that you wouldn't leave down here. It's amazing how quickly the venom will spread. Are you sure she's immortal because it sure doesn't look like it!" He cackled.

I growled so loud that it shook the ground causing even the specter version to stumble a little, taking him by surprise. I glared at him over my shoulder while surreptitiously getting ready to pull the fang from Isa's arm. I apologized silently to her.

"I know she's immortal," I growled, letting the diary drop open to the ground, which caught his attention, "but let's see if you are!"

I pulled the tooth from Isa so fast that she didn't have time to react before turning and slamming it into the diary. An unholy scream resonated around the chamber, coming from Riddle. I watched in disgust as he grabbed his face, which seemed to be burning from the inside out.

 _Again, Teddy. Do it again._

I closed the diary before stabbing it through the cover with the tooth again, this time making sure that it went through the entire book. We both watched as other patches of fire seemed to burn all over his body before he seemed to burst into flames then disappeared. Quicker than even I could discern, I spun back to Isa and pulled her into my arms, shaking with repressed sobs because even though she said she was immortal, I was really worried that I was going to lose her.

I was so lost in my grief that I didn't hear Ginny approaching us until she fell down in front of me. "Oh, Edward, what happened? I'm sorry; this is all my fault." She burst into tears while grabbing Isa's arm, the one that the basilisk had pierced. "I didn't even know what I was doing!"

"No, Ginny," Isa whispered from my arms. "Not your …"

"Save you strength, Isa. We have to get you out of here, get you to Dad." I shuddered.

I was just about to get to my feet when Fawkes landed next to Ginny.

 _Let me_ , I heard in my head. _I can help._

Before I could react, Fawkes leaned over, placing his head to Isa's arm and releasing a few tears, causing them to drop right onto the open wound. Ginny gasped when I sucked in a breath as we watched the hole close right up and the venom exit it and slide down innocently to the floor.

 _My tears have healing properties. I could not let one so innocent be so hurt. She may not have died but she would have scarred._ Fawkes looked up to me.

"Thank you," I whispered. "I will never forget what you have done for her. I am in your debt."

 _No. You are not. You would have done the same, this I know._

I nodded before picking Isa up; she had passed out from the pain and from being healed. I nodded to Ginny to pick up her wand, which Riddle had dropped. At least, now I knew where he got it from, the Sorting Hat and the diary, while I managed to grab the sword Isa had been using, only noting that there was writing on the blade but not paying much attention.

"Come now, we need to get going. I'm sure there are plenty of people worried about all of us, but especially you, Ginny."

Ginny nodded and followed me silently as I lead the way out of the chamber. I hoped I would never see this place again.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Ginny asked quietly when we had reached the place that Isa had kept Lockhart imprisoned. "And who's in there?"

"He's nobody. Never was and never will be again. Isa made sure of that." I looked to the tunnel we had come through before scanning the roof around us. It seemed the only exit was the one we'd come in through. I could climb out of here, but how was I going to get the rest out? I wasn't sure that Wingardium Leviosa would lift them that high, especially if I had to climb myself. "I don't know how to get us all out of here." I looked over to where Isa had hidden Lockhart. "First, I need to dig him out."

Between Ginny and me, we managed to make a comfortable pallet out of our cloaks for me to lay Isa on before I dug out our clueless professor. It took me a few minutes to explain to him what was going to happen, but his childlike mentality helped with it.

Just as I was finishing up with Lockhart, Isa came to, and she was not a happy camper.

"What happened to your robes?" she asked with no small amount of venom in her tone.

I looked down at them to see not only dirt from digging Lockhart out but singe marks and burns in some places. "Uh, I guess that's where some of the spells Riddle was flinging at you met their mark. But, I'm okay, nothing to worry about!" I spread my arms wide trying to placate her.

Isa stood there, her hands on her hips, mouth pressed in a tight line, and eyes glowing with the intensity of her emotions. I hoped she could keep them under control.

"Nothing to worry about? Nothing to worry about!" she shouted. "And just what do you think would happen if he was at full strength and sent a fire spell directly at me that you decided to jump in front of? Huh? Answer me that? And don't say you wouldn't because look at what you did in there!" Isa pointed over my shoulder toward the chamber to emphasize her point. "You are talking about this with Dumbledore when we get topside, and you're going to find a better way to defend not only me but yourself that doesn't involve putting you in harm's way. DO YOU HEAR ME?"

Instead of arguing, I decided that nodding my head in agreement was in order; besides, she was right. I really did need to learn more about defensive spells and defending us without doing something so stupid.

While Isa and Ginny walked off to calm Isa down a little bit, I investigated the tunnel we had come in once again, still unsure what to do. Fawkes managed to land on my shoulder this time, trying to capture my attention.

 _I can help. As a phoenix, I can carry immensely heavy loads, probably almost as much as you. Let me help you get them all out of here._

"Thank you, Fawkes. I'd really appreciate the help." I spun around to see that Isa and Ginny were on their way back over to me. "Isa, sweetheart," I called when she wouldn't really look at me, "I promise I will talk to Professor Dumbledore about training me in a duel situation and about more defensive spells. I promise. Now, we need to get out of here. Fawkes will carry Lockhart and Ginny while you scramble up on my back, and I'll climb us out, okay?"

"Thank you, Teddy." She pulled on my hand so I would lean down for the kiss she bestowed on me before she giggled and pulled herself onto my back. As I stood, we both looked over at Lockhart to see that Ginny had also done the same and that Fawkes was landing on his shoulders, getting ready to lift them both off the ground. "Home, Teddy!"

I laughed at her reference before turning and running toward the pipe, only to let Fawkes fly out in front of me. I didn't know what kind of reception we'd get when we climbed out, but at least, I knew for certain that Hogwarts was safe from the monster in The Chamber of Secrets.

~*~UHS~*~

We bumped into no one after climbing out of the chamber and into the girls' bathroom. No one was there waiting for us, which was a little surprising. I knew Jasper and Esme were aware we were going to find it, and I was surprised that they didn't follow us.

I could hear, though, that they were still in the school; in fact, all of our family was, as well as the Weasleys.

"We have to go to McGonagall's office; that's where Dumbledore is."

Isa and Ginny nodded but Lockhart turned to me. "Who's Dumbledore?"

Ginny's mouth dropped open at his question, her thoughts spinning out in all directions. She didn't understand why our professor didn't know what was going on.

I grabbed Lockhart by the arm and started guiding him toward the door but talking to him and Ginny at the same time. " _Professor_ Dumbledore is the headmaster of this school, and we need to go see him. We'll explain everything when we get there, okay?"

Ginny nodded, following us silently, but Lockhart was anything but silent. What I found interesting now was that he was fascinated by everything. His mind being so childlike that it was capable of understanding things his adult mind had gotten confused about. I was hoping that, with time and a little effort, he might be rehabilitated and become a productive member of society.

Fawkes flew over our heads, not leaving us as we made our way to McGonagall's office. The whole castle had been put into lockdown; that was why we never bumped into anyone on our way. Once we made it to the grand staircase, we all looked up to the moving staircase. We had a lot of stairs to climb before we reached McGonagall's office. I just hoped everyone was up to it.

"This is just like magic!" Lockhart exclaimed about both the moving staircases and the pictures that talked and asked how Ginny was doing as we made our way up. The girls were giggling at Lockhart but sobered when we walked through the door to see both of our families standing there, looking at us.

It was quiet for a split second before Molly and Esme cried out in joy and bolted across the room pulling Ginny, Isa, and me into their arms. Esme smothered us in hugs and kisses, hugging one of us tight then grabbing the other one over and over again. Molly was crying and nearly squeezing the life out of poor Ginny, at least, until she released her and pulled me into her arms.

"Thank you, Edward," she whispered before pulling Isa into her arms as well. "Thank you, Bella. I can't believe you did that for Ginny."

"I love her, Mrs. Molly. Ginny is my best friend, and I wouldn't have let her die without a fight."

"And there is no way any member of my family is threatened without us doing something about it," I murmured to Molly. "You're family to Isa, but it's not just that. You guys brought my Isa to me, helped us assimilate into the magical world, and have been here through everything so far. There was no question that we would do our best to save her."

There was a quiet scoff in the background. Ron was standing in the back of the office with his arms crossed. While everyone in his family was making a fuss over Ginny, he was pissed off and grumbling. It wasn't that he didn't love Ginny, or that he didn't want her saved, he just didn't want the spotlight taken from him, and he knew that with her disappearance, it was going to be about Ginny for a long while. The more he grew up, the more selfish he became. I didn't know what was going to become of him.

Molly burst into fresh tears and hugged us tighter again. "Thank you, just, thank you."

After releasing us, the rest of our family descended. There was dry sobbing, tight hugs, kisses, and more than one threat about us going off on our own, even after telling Emmett that Jasper and Esme knew what we were doing.

"I don't care. You could have used more help. Jasper should have gone with you or, at least, gotten me. What the hell happened down there?"

"That's something I would like to know," Dumbledore spoke up from behind McGonagall's desk where Fawkes had landed on the back of a chair, standing tall and regal. "Please, everyone, sit down, and we'll have Edward and Isabella tell us what happened."

"Are you Professor Dumbledore?" a voice spoke up from the back of the room. We all spun to face Lockhart. From the thoughts around us, we'd forgotten he was there.

"I am." Dumbledore peered down at Isa and me, to which we both smirked and shrugged our shoulders. "Who are you?"

"I'm Gilderoy Lockhart. I'm ten years old. What do you teach here in this school?"

Dumbledore strolled down from the dais that McGonagall's desk stood on, peering at Isa and me as he moved past us, to stand in front of Lockhart. "Well, Master Lockhart, we teach all sorts of things in this school. Why don't you go with Professor Whitlock,, and he can take you somewhere where you'll be comfortable."

"Take him to the hospital wing," I whispered, telling Jasper Dumbledore's thoughts. "Explain to Madam Pomfrey that he's bumped his head and lost his memories. It'll keep him safe for now."

Jasper nodded, guiding Lockhart out the door. _And the fact that I can hear all the way over there is a bonus._

I snickered at his thoughts before turning back to a stern-faced Dumbledore, who had moved back behind McGonagall's desk, placing the things we had brought with us upon it. "Now, please tell me the events of this night. Master Masen, you first …"

We spent the next several hours going over everything that had happened that night. Once our recovery of Ginny was handled, the Weasleys left to take her to the hospital wing to be checked out. They were relieved that it seemed Ginny had no ill effects from what had happened.

"Now I want to know what happened after I was pulled away from the school. But first, Carlisle, why don't you take Isabella down to Esme's office in the castle and check on her. The rest of your family can follow. I'll talk to Edward while you do that."

"But …" Isa was about to argue.

"No, sweet girl. Go. I can tell Professor Dumbledore everything. Plus, I need to talk to him anyway."

She nodded reluctantly but grabbed Carlisle's hand and followed them all out the door. I turned back to see that Dumbledore was watching silently and his mind was closed. He pointed in the direction of a cupboard hiding a pensieve and asked me to bring it over to the desk. After I put it carefully on the desk, I pulled my wand from my pocket and retrieved the memories from my mind. I watched in silence as Dumbledore reviewed everything that had happened since that night in Hagrid's hut, including what had happened down in the chamber.

"Isabella is right, Edward. We must do something so you are not put in harm's way. And I think I shall bring you a few books to read on defensives spells, something for your instincts to grab a hold of that will not put you in danger of using one that you shouldn't." Here Dumbledore stopped to think. "Riddle revealed a lot down there in the chamber, more than he should have. And Lucius will become a problem."

"He should be removed from the school board," I urged, causing Dumbledore to look up at me in surprise. "I have someone I trust feeding me information."

"Do you wish to share?"

I shook my head. "Not at this time, no. This person came to me for a reason. I'm not going to betray that trust."

"Nor do I wish you to. You trust this person explicitly?"

"I do. They've been a help this year."

Dumbledore pursed his lips. I didn't think he was entirely happy with my answer but let it drop. "You took note of this sword when you picked it up. Do you know why this was able to appear to Isabella in the chamber? Or why you were able to pick it up?"

I shook my head; I hadn't even thought about it. "I just wanted to get Isa to Dad to check her over. The sooner we were out of the chamber the better."

He nodded. "That's fair. I expected no different. But pick it up now and have a look at it."

I stood from the chair I had sat in and walked over to the desk to pick up the sword, still covered in the blood and venom from the basilisk, to have a clear look at the weapon Isa had been wielding. It was beautiful in its intricacies. A golden handle with rubies placed throughout the hilt, the largest in the end of the handle, with a likeness of who I presumed was one of the original teachers carved into it. But it was the blade that caught my attention, made of silver and definitely some of the best craftsmanship I had ever seen, that had the name Godric Gryffindor carved into it. My gaze snapped up to Dumbledore's when I read the inscription.

"Yes, Edward, this sword was made for Godric Gryffindor, and only a true Gryffindor could have pulled this from the hat. Only true Gryffindors could have wielded it as well as Isabella did. The fact that it didn't disappear when you went to pick it up means that you are also a true Gryffindor because, while others can hold it, it only appears to Gryffindors in need."

I carefully placed the sword back on the table. I wanted to say something, anything, because I'd never felt as accepted anywhere as I did here, but just as I did, I heard someone coming this way. He was at the bottom of the stairs and coming up. I raised my finger to my lips to advise Dumbledore to keep what he was about to say to himself. I could see the barest hint of a smirk on Dumbledore's mouth, meaning he knew, knew that this confrontation was going to happen tonight.

We stood in silence as we waited. The person in question didn't even knock on McGonagall's door; he just barged right in like he owned the place, and from his thoughts, he thought he did. But if what I was hearing from Dumbledore was true, it wouldn't be that way for very much longer.

"So, it is true; you're back," the intruder sneered. His blond hair was straight down his back like he'd taken a straightener to it that morning. What did surprise me, though, was that Dobby, the poor house elf whom he was abusing that morning in Diagon Alley so long ago, was trailing behind him.

This was my chance to free him, if I was able to.

"Well, Lucius, when Arthur Weasley's daughter was taken into the chamber, the governing council saw fit to bring me back. In fact, it seemed several of them were warned that you would harm their families if they didn't agree to get rid of me in the first place."

Lucius sputtered at the accusation Dumbledore let roll. "How dare you! My concern has only ever been for this school and the students who reside within."

I couldn't help it. I snorted, loudly, which caused Lucius's glare to come spinning to me.

"What do you think you're doing here? In trouble?" Lucius fumed.

"Actually, no. I was just returning the things that had been brought to us in the Chamber of Secrets. Things that helped kill the basilisk, and I was bringing evidence to Dumbledore on how it was opened in the first place."

"B-basilisk? Who opened the chamber?"

"Voldemort, in a fashion. He took control of a student, by way of this." Dumbledore dropped the diary heavily onto the table. We both saw the flinch that Lucius tried to hide, but it was Dobby's thoughts that caught my attention.

 _That was in Master's possession earlier this year. This was what Dobby was trying to keep Harry from; couldn't let the Boy who Lived to get hurt again._

And there was more proof that Lucius had something to do with this.

"Voldemort? That belonged to Voldemort?"

"Let's not beat around the bush, Lucius," I sneered at him. "You know damn well it was. Don't try to deny it."

"I don't know what you mean! How dare you!"

Dumbledore coughed gently. "Doesn't matter right now. Edward and Isabella were able to save Ginny from the monster, kill it, and destroy the diary."

I could hear Lucius grinding his teeth at that. He knew that was not how it was supposed to go down. "Well, let's hope that they'll always be here to save the day."

"Don't worry; we will be. Seeing as we are immortal and all that." I smirked while waving my hand dismissively. But something about the way Dumbledore had said destroy the diary made me wonder about something he'd had us study earlier in the year. _Could it have been a horcrux?_

"For now, Lucius, I believe you should be going. I hope that no more of Voldemort's old school things will reappear."

Instead of a goodbye, Lucius spun around, fluttering his robes out behind him, and stalked off out the door after kicking poor Dobby to the floor and demanding that he hurry up. I couldn't stand that the poor house elf was treated that way, and it must have shown all over my face because Dumbledore called for my attention. When I turned, he was holding out the diary.

"Perhaps this should be returned to the rightful owner." His eyes twinkled with mirth.

"Perhaps you're right." I grabbed the diary from him and took off out the door and down the stairs, using my natural speed to catch them in a corridor. "Mr. Malfoy! Mr. Malfoy!"

"What do you want, you abomination?" He wheeled around to face me.

"I just wanted to return this to you. It was given to you by your Dark Lord, after all."

He snatched it from my hand before handing it to Dobby, just as I hoped he would. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Come along, Dobby, there are things that need to be done."

Dobby hesitated just a little, he wanted me to apologize to Harry for him but couldn't say anything in front of Lucius. So I decided to give him a hand.

"Open the diary." He looked at me skeptically. "Just do it. I promise everything will be fine."

Dobby looked down and slowly opened the diary, only for it to fall open at a specific page. He looked up at me with tears in his big round eyes, knowing I had helped to do this.

"Dobby, what are you doing?" growled Lucius.

"Master has presented Dobby with clothes."

"What are you going on about?"

"Master has given Dobby a sock. Dobby is free!"

The look Lucius gave me would have killed me on the spot if he'd been able to. I pulled the leg of my pants up to show him where I had taken off my own sock to be presented to Dobby.

"You have cost me my servant!" Lucius bellowed, pulling his wand and striding toward me. "Ava …"

Before I could pull my own, Dobby popped in front of me. "You shall not harm Edward Masen!" Dobby held up a hand in front of himself, pushing it toward Lucius; a powerful wave of magic flew toward the has-been wizard, throwing him back through the air. "Nor shall you harm any of his friends!"

Lucius was dazed and confused but was caught unaware when Dobby clicked his fingers and made him disappear, to where I had no idea. Dobby turned to look up at me, sheer awe expressed all over his face.

"You helped free Dobby, Master Masen. How can Dobby ever repay you?"

I laughed quietly. "How about instead of trying to save my friends lives, you come tell me about it first, and we can work on it together."

Dobby seemed to blush, just a little, and gave me a sheepish smile in return. "Dobby can do that."

"Great, now how about we go collect Isa, then I'll introduce you to everyone in the hospital wing. Including Harry and his family. Then we can fill them in on how you helped." I held out my hand for him to take, which he did, quite happily.

"Gladly, Master Masen."

With a click of his fingers, we popped into Esme's office.

~*~UHS~*~

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 **Hmm quite a bit revealed in this chapter. What do you all think?**

 **One more chapter to go for Book Two - One Step Closer to Forever, see you all in a fortnight!**


	13. Chapter Twelve - Schools Out For Summer

***Sniffles* This is it, the last chapter for Book Two. I can't thank you all of you enough for following me on this journey. And I cannot wait to be able to share the next one, when it's ready. Keep an eye on my group Bubbleybear & Pienuniek's Story Nook for information on when Book Three will begin to post.**

 **One last big shout out to Pienuniek and Sally Hopkinson for all their hard work on this story, there isn't enough thank you's in the world for what you guys do.**

 **I'll let you get to it.**

* * *

 **13 – Chapter Twelve – Schools Out for Summer**

"How is she?" I asked the minute we popped into Esme's office.

"She can answer for herself," Isa snarked back to snickers around the room. "And I'm fine, Teddy. You and Fawkes saved me by pulling out that tooth and his tears."

I released Dobby's hand to walk over and pull Isa into my arms. I was so grateful that she was going to be okay. I looked down, rolling her sleeve up to make sure the hole had completely gone—it had, and there wasn't a scar there at all.

 _Did you speak to Dumbledore about training you?_ Isa asked, playing with one of the scorch marks in the sleeve of my uniform.

I nodded slightly. "He agreed with you after watching what had happened in the chamber, but I think we would both benefit from it."

 _Do you think Harry and the others would? Because I have a feeling there's more to Harry and his scar than Dumbledore is telling us._

"I think it's something we all need to work on. That other thing though? We'll worry about it later because I think there's a lot that he's keeping from us."

Isa looked up at me, her big brown eyes imploring me. _We're going to tell everyone what we know, right?_

"Yes, everyone."

 _Draco too?_

"Yes." I hugged her tight, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"If you two are done, I believe we have something here that might make you very happy," Emmett boomed from the door behind us.

I stepped to the side, turning as I did so, only to come to a stop when I saw who was standing in the doorway.

"Hermione! Harry!" Isa squealed, jumping down from the table and bolting toward them. She wrapped them both up in a hug that, had Emmett not been standing there, would have bowled them completely over. "You guys are okay?"

They both nodded, squeezing her tight and all giggling together when I wrapped all three of them in my arms. "It's so good to see you guys up and about again. We missed you."

"Wanna get out of the doorway?" A gruff but happy voice asked from beyond our little huddle.

Isa giggled, looking up at the two men who had followed behind Harry and Hermione. "No, Jacob, we're quite happy standing here."

Harry pulled out of our hug and moved off to the side, shaking his head but smiling at us. The girls were in no hurry to move, so I picked them both up in my arms, causing them to squeal with laughter as I walked them into the room. Once I placed them down, I let them go and moved over to the side as the girls talked to each other in that hundred mile an hour speed they can do.

While watching them with an indulgent smile, I noticed both Shane and Jacob coming toward me. When I looked up, Shane was holding his hand out to me. I shook it before he could find the words to talk to me.

"I wanted to thank you, Edward. You and Isa took my request to find out what was happening and turned it on its head. From what Molly was saying, you two not only figured it out but stopped it from ever happening again."

"Like I said to Molly, we would never abandon our family in times of need. There was no way we would walk away without trying to do everything we could. There's no need to thank us for looking after family."

"Still," Jacob came into the conversation, "what you've done is a huge thing. We looked for the Chamber of Secrets when we were here and didn't find a thing."

"If it wasn't for Hermione, we might have taken longer to find it. She was brilliant, even if she managed to get petrified to get it to us."

The girl in question snorted from next to Isa. "I could have done without that experience, thank you very much, but I'm also sure that you and Bella would have figured it out eventually."

"Well, let's just say thank you to all of you!" Shane laughed when Isa, Hermione, and I started talking over one another to pass the accolades on.

The girls blushed while I looked around at the others in the room. All of their thoughts were thankful for what we had done, but none more so than Harry. It was an experience that could go to your head if you let it, but it embarrassed us to have everyone thanking us. I know we would've done the same for anyone in this room, and they would have done it for us.

We all carried on for a little longer before Esme asked a question that sobered us all. "How was Ginny?"

"From what we could tell, she was fine. Madam Pomfrey was unable to find anything wrong with her, no lasting side effects had shown up … yet," Jacob told us. "But I wouldn't be surprised if Molly was running her to you all summer, Carlisle, with every little sniffle the girl makes."

Carlisle nodded. "I can understand what she means. I'll be keeping a close eye on Bella for the same reason." Carlisle held his hands in the air when Isa started to protest. "Yes, I know you're an immortal creature. Yes, I know that Fawkes has healing properties in his tears, but … but," he repeated when she tried again, "I am your father, and that allows me to worry."

Isa's mouth snapped shut because she knew he was right. It was what parents did; so instead of arguing, she nodded her head then flew into his arms.

A few minutes later, Esme took command of the room. "Right; you kids need to get on up to bed because your exams start tomorrow." We all groaned at that. We only had, at most, a week to go until we were out for the summer. "Well, you can thank Edward for that. I have a feeling had he not realized you guys could all hear us while you were petrified, then you would have had them canceled." She chuckled.

Harry threw his hands up in the air with a little smile before saying sarcastically, "Thanks, Edward!"

I laughed at his mock putout face before replying with, "No problem."

"Now, off to bed, all of you. Most of us will see you at Kings Cross sooner than you think!"

~*~UHS~*~

We weren't exactly quiet as we climbed to the Gryffindor Common Room, but we made it there uninterrupted by anyone, including the ghosts. The fat lady, however, greeted us enthusiastically, congratulating us over and over, before she opened up without any of us giving her the password—in her words, only true Gryffindors could have done what we did. Her reaction was tame compared to the hurricane that washed over us when we stepped through the entrance hole. All the Weasleys were waiting on the other side cheering for us, Fred and George the loudest. Even Percy was loud, and that was unusual for him. It took us several minutes for them to calm down and stop thanking us.

But being that it was so late, it wasn't long until poor Ginny started yawning. It had been a long year for her, and a brush with death always wore someone out. I'd seen it plenty of times in the hospitals that Carlisle worked in over the years.

"Isa, Hermione, why don't you take Ginny up to her dormitory; it's time for bed. In fact, it's something we all should do; we have exams tomorrow."

 _Edward, can I talk to you after everyone else goes up to bed?_ Harry asked, loitering around the Common Room. I nodded but moved to my area to clean it up and start packing up the extra things I had. I was going to have to go to the Room of Requirement and gather all of my potion making supplies. While Harry wasn't going to need to take my potions anymore, Sirius and James still would, plus I had continued making the potion for Lupin. Over the summer, I planned to continue tweaking it; the current potion would allow him to transform into a wolf and sleep during his cycle. I was hoping I could make it so he could at least be awake during the day, even if he was still a wolf.

"Edward?"

I turned to face Harry, stepping out into the Common Room because the only people still allowed in my corner were Hermione and Isa. I followed him over to the lounges in front of the fireplace. "What can I help you with, Harry?"

"Dad, Uncle Jacob, and I were talking as we made our way to Esme's office tonight, and he told me something that concerned me." I waited because he wasn't looking at me, but I knew he had more to say. "He said that if you weren't here, or Isa, that it's possible I would have been the one who would have done what you've done the last two years."

 _Wow, guys, way to lay a lot of pressure at Harry's feet._ I looked over to Harry to see that he was hunched over, like the thought of all of this put so much on his young shoulders.

"It's possible they're right. But I'm glad I've been here to give you more time to grow up a little. Had you been included in it, though, we wouldn't have let you handle it by yourself. In saying that, we can include you from now on, but we'll never let you be on your own with it all."

The way Harry slumped in relief would have been comical under different circumstances, but I could read from his thoughts that he was happy. He was happy that he hadn't had to deal with this before now, happy that he was going to have all of us going forward, but he wasn't sure he wanted to be this person who was going to have to face Voldemort—ever.

I reached over, placing my hand on his shoulder. "There's no guarantee he's going to try every year that you're here. If it weren't for Malfoy Senior, he wouldn't have been here this year."

Harry leaned back against the couch and rolled his head toward me, the look in his eyes said it all. He didn't believe it would make a difference. "He's going to keep coming back and coming back until he gets what he wants. And that's a life where he can try to take control and keep trying to kill me."

"Well, I guess we should start some sort of training then. Learning spells that might be above your age, proper dueling, and more defensive spells. What do you think?"

"When do we start?" Harry smirked.

I laughed, slapping him on the back. "We're going to start over the summer by talking to our parents. I'm sure Remus, Jacob, and Shane have lots to teach us. But first, Isa and I are going to fill all of you in on everything we know. You can't be prepared if you don't know what we do."

"What does Dumbledore think?"

I shook my head. "He keeps things close to the chest. We aren't going to tell him that we're telling you and the others, but I'll be listening to him for more information."

"Do you think that's wise? Won't he know?"

"No. He might suspect, and he might suspect that sometimes we tell you guys more than we should, but I don't think he expects us to tell you everything."

"Okay; good. I feel better now."

I smirked. "Good; now off to bed. Exams tomorrow."

"Ugh, don't remind me." But he got up and headed up the stairs with a wave.

~*~UHS~*~

The week of exams was long. Really long. For those of us who had been awake for most of the year, the exams were hard enough, but for those who had been petrified for most of the year, they were that much harder. It didn't matter that all their course work had been read to them; things were still difficult. When we weren't studying for our own, Isa and I were helping Hermione, Harry, and even Ginny study for theirs. While Ginny hadn't been petrified, she had large patches of time that she couldn't remember. If anyone deserved to have her exams cancelled, it was her.

But Ginny didn't want that. I felt for her because she'd been unable to make many friends this year due to Riddle, but we were there for her because she was our friend, our family.

"Phew, I'm so glad that's over." Isa sighed, sitting down next to me outside our Transfiguration classroom. "That was the last one. All that's left is to pack and have dinner tonight."

"Me too. They were certainly more brutal than last year."

"Think that's because we were more distracted?"

"I think it's possible."

We sat quietly while we waited for the rest of our friends to come out.

"How did your talk with Harry go earlier this week?"

"It went well, and he's on board for that thing we were talking about."

"Good. I think we're all going to need it but for different reasons."

I nodded. "Me too."

I lifted my arm and wrapped it around Isa, letting her snuggle into me. From what I read in her mind, she just wanted to snuggle while waiting. Her poor mind was exhausted; all she wanted when we got home for break was to sleep for a while. I couldn't wait to give that to her.

Hermione was next out of McGonagall's classroom; she didn't say anything, just flopped down on the other side of me and rested her head on my arm. She had worn herself out too. I hoped Neville and Harry made it out soon or my poor girls were going to fall asleep.

About fifteen minutes later, Neville stopped short as he stepped out through the door. "Oh, Edward, I think you better take them up for a nap before dinner. They're out." He snickered quietly.

"I know. Can you go and round up Professor Whitlock please? I could carry them both up by myself, but it would be easier if I had help."

"Yeah, no worries. I'll leave my bag here, okay?"

I nodded, watching as he jogged off around the corner. By the time Neville was back with Jasper, Harry had made it out of our Transfiguration exam.

"I think I'm going to follow the girl's example and have a nap before the end of year feast," Harry murmured following Jasper and I up the Grand Staircase to the Common Room.

"Me too," Neville yawned.

After Jasper and I settled Hermione and Isa into the recliner chair in my nook, I finished packing what had been left out, only leaving an outfit for the next day to go home in. I'd gone to the Room of Requirement earlier in the week to pack up everything in there, not that there was much left by the end of the year.

"Kreacher?"

There were two distinctive pops, causing me to turn around only to find both Kreacher and Dobby standing there.

"Dobby, what are you doing here?"

"Dobby is unsure what to do with himself, sir. Dobby is a free elf, but Dobby has nothing to do, so when Sir Masen called for Kreacher, Dobby thought he could help."

"Do you mind the help, Kreacher?"

The old house elf shook his head. "No, Master Edward, Kreacher is happy for the help."

"Good; for now, can you two please pack Isa's and Hermione's things to go home tomorrow? Afterward, we'll go and see Dumbledore and try to figure out what you can do, Dobby."

Kreacher bowed before clicking his fingers, but Dobby paused. "Thank you, Master Edward. Dobby is most appreciative for the help."

"Not a problem." I waved away Dobby's thanks as he, too, popped out of the room. For now, if Dumbledore couldn't help him, maybe Shane and Jacob would like some help around the house or even Molly. Although, I think she may be happier with a female house elf.

When Kreacher and Dobby were done, I woke Isa and Hermione to get them up and ready for the end of year feast while I went with Dobby to Dumbledore's office. He decided he could do with another house elf on the payroll and hired Dobby on the spot. Dobby was so happy that he hugged me before taking me down to the foyer in front of the Great Hall.

I bobbed down in front of him. "It was a great pleasure to meet you Dobby, and if you need any help, please don't hesitate to ask."

Dobby nodded. "You as well, Master Edward," he said before lowering his voice to a whisper. "And if I hear anything about he-who-must-not-be-named, I shall pass it along."

"Thank you. Could you please pass this note onto Draco Malfoy?"

"Yes, Master Edward." With a click of his fingers, he was gone.

I didn't stand there long, waiting for the others. As soon as they were there, we made our way into the Great Hall for the end of year feast. We were just getting comfortable when Isa piped up with a question that had plagued us for the last week.

"Have you decided what electives you're taking next year, Hermione?"

Hermione shook her head as she sat down opposite Isa and me. "I have no idea. I want to study them all. Do you think it's possible?"

"I don't see how." Harry joined in the conversation, sitting next to Isa while Neville sat next to Hermione. "Some of the classes are at the same time as the others."

Hermione waved her hand. "There has to be a way. What about you and Neville?"

"We're going to take Care of Magical Creatures and Divination."

"Pfft. Divination. That's a bunch of woolly magic that involves a lot of guesswork. Why would you wanna take that?" Hermione asked.

Isa chuckled. "I wouldn't say that around Alice. Isn't what she does considered a form of Divination?"

That brought Hermione up short; she hadn't thought about it like that. In fact, I hadn't either. It makes me wonder why Alice hadn't shown any magical aptitude; if she could see the future, shouldn't she be able to perform magic?

"Well, yes," Hermione murmured, "but hers is much more accurate than reading tea leaves. A vision is much clearer than looking at random shapes or reading Tarot cards."

Ginny plopped down on the other side of Neville, out of breath like she'd run here from the Common Room. "What are we talking about?"

"What electives we're taking next year," Neville answered before turning to Isa. "What are you taking?"

"It's a given that I'll be taking Care of Magical Creatures …"

"We'll just have to make sure she doesn't bring any more home," I interrupted, causing everyone to snicker.

Isa blew a raspberry at me before she continued. "I'm going to continue on with Muggle Studies. I want to learn all there is about how you three grew up." She pointed at Hermione, Harry, and me. "And I'm taking Ancient Runes with Teddy."

I nodded along to Isa's words before adding my own. "And I'm going to take Care of Magical Creatures as well. I'll study Arithmancy on my own."

Harry frowned. "So you're only taking two electives?"

"Yup." I answered.

Harry was about to ask why, but Dumbledore stood from the teachers' table, getting everyone's attention.

"We've come to yet another end of the school year, and what a year it has been." Here he paused giving us time to reflect, I suppose. "This year has been one of the hardest that Hogwarts has ever seen, yet you all handled yourselves admirably.

"But that is not why I'm standing here before you. I am here to award the House Cup!" The cheers at this admission were huge. Of course, we knew who had won due to the hourglass trackers placed on the wall in the foyer of the Great Hall, but we all loved this official ceremony.

Plus we were all stoked because Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup for a second year in a row!

"In fourth place, we have Ravenclaw with four hundred and ninety-two points. In third place, we have Slytherin with five hundred and twelve points. Hufflepuff came in second place with five hundred and forty-three points. That means in first place is Gryffindor with six hundred and eight points!"

Our table went absolutely wild, Fred and George being the loudest.

With a clap of his hands, Dumbledore decorated the Great Hall with our house colors of maroon and gold.

"Gryffindor wins the House Cup!"

~*~UHS~*~

I sighed, sitting down on the back verandah and watching as three giggling girls played with Zinnia. We'd only been home a couple days, but I was relaxing from the mental strain that being at Hogwarts put on my mind. It was so nice to only hear a few minds around me. Although, we had an extra one today because Ginny had come over to escape all of her brothers.

Well, her brothers and one of ours. It seemed that Emmett, Fred, and George had become great friends, but it was their pranks that were driving poor Ginny up the wall. In two days, she'd been victim to three of their ideas of fun, all ending in disaster for her. I think her hair was a few inches shorter than when we left Hogwarts.

I was distracted from my thoughts by a couple popping sounds from the front of the house. I took one last look at the giggling girls before making my way through the house. From the thoughts I heard, it seemed we were having a visit from Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall.

"Welcome, Professors, what can I do for you?" I asked after I opened the door.

"Edward! Good to see you so soon. May we come in?"

"Of course. Come out to the back; it's just me with the girls today."

"Good morning, Edward. Enjoying your break so far?"

"Morning, Professor McGonagall. I'm enjoying the quietness of being home; all the noise in the castle can become a bit tiresome."

I lead them through the house and out onto the back verandah before offering them something to drink. Kreacher must have overheard because the minute they'd given their choices, he walked out with them on a tray, as well as some biscuits.

"Thank you, Kreacher." Instead of replying, he just gave a bow and returned to the kitchen.

"I'm sure the castle would be really noisy to your sensitive hearing. This must be a nice change."

"It can be. At least until everyone gets home, anyway. What can I do for you today?"

Professor McGonagall took a sip of her tea. "Oh, I'm here to see Hermione. I looked over her sheet for the subjects she wanted to take next term and realized she wrote them all down. There's no possible way for her to cover them all, so I just needed to talk to her."

I chuckled. "I wondered if that would happen. She was adamant that she wanted to do them all, but even I was a bit skeptical." I looked over to the giggling girls. "Hermione, come over here please. Professor McGonagall wants to talk to you."

Instead of just Hermione, all three girls came over.

"Hello, Professors," Hermione, Ginny, and Isa chanted when they stopped at the table. "What do you need, Professor McGonagall?" Hermione continued.

"Why don't you two go into the library to discuss it," I suggested. "That'll give you some privacy."

Both of them smiled at me before McGonagall got up from the table and followed Hermione into the house. Isa, Ginny, and I turned to face Dumbledore when they were gone.

He smiled at us. "Ginny, I need to talk to Edward and Isabella for a moment."

"No problems. I'll go back and play with Zinnia!" She squealed before running off.

"I brought young Isa something today. I was hoping you'd be able to get some use out of it," Dumbledore explained before putting a bag on the table that I hadn't noticed before. It was similar to the pouch he brought when he met us in Forks a couple years ago. "Accio mirrorsieve."

Isa gasped as the magical item Lockhart had made flew out of the bag and onto the table. She had wanted to investigate how he had gotten it to work before we had gone down to the chamber, but we hadn't had the time. Dumbledore had confiscated it when we'd told him what happened, and Lockhart's gear had been packed up to follow him to St. Mungo's.

"I thought this too dangerous to be left just anywhere, and I wanted to keep it safe. I knew you had an interest in it, Isabella, and I thought what better place to keep it than here with the mirror."

I chuckled at the look on my happy girl's face. "We're going to have to build a room if you keep bringing us things."

I could see that I'd already lost Isa to figuring it all out. But it wasn't just figuring it out, she wanted to see what she could make. I could see that I would have a little inventor on my hands.

"Go on, sweet girl, take it up to our room and discover to your hearts content. I'll play Ginny in wizard's chess or something."

Isa squealed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She ran around the table, planting a kiss on my cheek then Dumbledore's before picking up the mirrorsieve and running off.

"It's so easy to make her happy." Dumbledore laughed.

"Some days it is," I agreed as McGonagall and Hermione stepped out of the back door. "All sorted?"

Hermione let out this huge put-on sigh. "Yes. I dropped two of the subjects I wanted to study. So I'm left with Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes." She looked around. "Where did Bella go?"

"She's gone inside to fiddle with something. Did you want to take Ginny inside?"

"Ooo, I can introduce her to coloring books. Ginny, come inside; I want to show you something!"

"Okay!" The three of us were silent as the both of them ran past us back inside.

"Was there no way she could study all of them?" I asked after the girls had gone.

McGonagall shook her head. "We didn't want her burning herself out. She couldn't be in two places at once, anyway."

That was a good point I thought before asking; "There was no way to move things around?"

"Edward"—Dumbledore laughed—"there's only so many hours in a day!"

I shook my head, laughing also. "I know. I just want to give them all everything they want. It's a damn shame you have nothing that can manipulate time."

It took me a minute to notice that I was the only one laughing.

"We do," McGonagall answered my careless joke in a serious tone. "But they are very dangerous and would only lead to the burnout I mentioned before."

My mouth dropped open at her admission. "Seriously, there's something that can help you travel time?"

Dumbledore and McGonagall smiled but didn't answer the question out loud. Dumbledore's mind was closed, but there in McGonagall's was a picture of a necklace that had two separate moving circles. In the middle was an hourglass that spun with a dial located at the top. I watched, fascinated, as the dial was spun, making the hourglass spin backward going through time.

"How is that dangerous?"

"That is a complicated discussion for another day!" Dumbledore laughed before standing. "I've spoken to Remus, Shane, and Jacob. They tell me that they and Harry will be here in the next couple days. They are going to be the ones to help you and the others with what we discussed after the chamber."

I stood, shaking Dumbledore's hand and guiding them both to the front door. "I received an owl from them just this morning. I'm looking forward to it."

"Good, good. We shall get out of your hair then. Enjoy your break, Edward."

"You as well. Good day, Professors."

I closed the door after they'd apparated, then I made my way up the stairs, checking on Ginny and Hermione on my way. They were happily coloring in some of the books that Esme seemed to collect. Ginny was concentrating so hard that she had her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth.

"You girls need anything?" They shook their heads. "Just let Kreacher or me know if you change your minds. I'm going upstairs to see what Isa is up to."

"Okay, Edward." They both giggled.

I chuckled at them as I turned to take the last flight of stairs. I found Isa kneeling on her desk chair bent over the mirrorsieve. She hadn't taken it apart as yet, but she was inspecting every nook and cranny.

"I need to make a trip to Diagon Alley," Isa murmured when she realized I was there, not taking her eyes off the device.

"Oh, yeah, what for?"

"I need to read up on how to get a magical item to reveal what kind of spells have been placed on it, if any."

"Have you tried your dad's books in the library? There's nothing in the potions book, but if you can't find a spell, I might be able to work on a potion."

Isa's head popped up to look at me. "Oh! I hadn't thought of that. Good idea, Teddy." With that, she jumped down off the chair and ran down the stairs.

I shook my head before flopping down on the couch in our suite and picking up Charlie's potion book. I was still fiddling around with ingredients and timing in my head before I started adjusting _Imperium Lupus_ for Remus.

I was so lost in what I was reading and thinking that I didn't hear Isa come back in the room. "You know, Teddy, you're never going to get it right if you only think about it. That's why we bought the tester, so you could test the potions in it before testing it on humans."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just not ready yet."

"Well, it'll be there when you are, and so will I."

I stood and made my way to the piano via Isa's desk to give her a kiss on the head. "Thanks, baby girl, I know."

~*~UHS~*~

"Again, Edward!" Lupin called, dodging the spell I threw his way. When I'd spoken to Dumbledore about training for duels such as what I'd experienced in the chamber, I thought we'd study spells first. Read about them, learn them, before being thrown into the ring and using them.

But that wasn't what Remus, James, and Sirius wanted Harry, Isa, and I to do. No, they wanted to know what we could do under pressure, what spells we would throw out without thinking, or even what we would do when a spell was thrown at a loved one.

Of course, I failed that last one at every turn, even when it wasn't my turn. I couldn't let spells be thrown at Isa; so more often than not, she was mad at me because I wasn't letting her practice, and because I was getting hit with spells, even if they were as benign as Expelliarmus.

Today though, they had decided to do something different. They'd separated us and managed to put as much distance between us as they could while keeping Isa and me in sight of each other. This way, though, I was unable to run to her side because I was being kept busy by Remus.

"Well done, Bella!" I heard James call. "Now, I want you to keep dodging them." I spun to face what was going on, only to be hit in the back by the next spell Remus threw at me. This one hard enough to make me land face first in the dirt.

I groaned as I rolled over, more at my damaged pride than the fact that I'd been hit, only to find Remus looking down at me with his hand held out to help me up. "You need to realize that Bella is completely capable of handling herself. It's an emotional barrier for you, and until you can get through that, you're going to make mistake after mistake after mistake. All in the name of protecting someone who doesn't really need it."

I grabbed his hand and let him pull me up. "I know," I groaned. "But I can't seem to help it."

"Yes, Bella, yes! Again!" I made a move to go help her, but Remus grabbed me. He was the only one who had a real chance at holding me.

"You can't, Edward. She needs to do this, and you need to let her."

"What I need to do is protect her!"

"Kreacher!" Remus called. The old house elf popped into view.

"Yes, Master Lupin?"

"I need you to hold Edward here. By magical means or otherwise."

"No," I growled, hoping to stop Kreacher, but he snapped his fingers anyway. I felt Remus pull away but I was locked in place. I couldn't tell you what had a hold of me, but I couldn't move. "Let me go, Kreacher. I need to protect Isa."

Lupin answered before Kreacher could. "No, Edward, you need to watch. Not interfere. Harry, can you come here for a moment, please?"

Everyone in our area came to a standstill, including Isa and James. Harry walked over and sat in the spot that Lupin indicated.

"Bella, Edward is having trouble understanding the fact that you are a capable young witch. You and Hermione are two of the brightest witches of your age. I know you can handle what we're throwing at you and more, but I know Edward's protective instincts are getting in the way of our testing." Isa nodded along with what Remus was saying. "I need you to show him, to help him push through this emotional barrier that he has. Do you think you can do that?"

Isa looked me in the eye, her mind conveying all the love she had for me. "How?" she asked before looking back toward Remus.

I growled, reading his mind. I wasn't happy with what he had planned, and the longer he hesitated, the louder I growled.

"I've had Kreacher trap Edward in a cage that he can't get out of because he can't see it. I need you to just keep doing what you were doing with James. We'll expand from there, okay?"

"Tell her the truth, Remus!" I growled again. "She needs to know the truth!"

"No, she doesn't, Edward. She needs to prove to you that she's capable."

"She's right here," Isa spoke up. "I don't like being talked about like I'm not here. I trust what you're going to do, Remus; let's get on with it. Teddy, you need to trust me."

That brought me up short. She'd never worded it like that before. I did trust her, more than my own life, but I realized she'd never grow into all she could be if I kept holding her back.

I sighed before plopping down on the ground. "Go ahead, baby girl; show me what you can do. And, for the record, I do trust you; it's every one of those other bastards I don't trust."

Isa blew me a kiss. _I know, but I need to know this, and I need to know that you'll be safe when the time comes._

I nodded, suitably chastised, because she was right. Isa shouldn't have to worry about me while she was fighting for our rights as well.

"Good. Now that's cleared up," Remus said sarcastically. "Bella and James, back to it, please."

I watched with a small amount of trepidation as Isa and James completed the duel ritual we'd learned in that poor excuse for a demonstration by Lockhart earlier in the school year. She was stunning, graceful and poised in her stance. More so than James, who seemed almost clumsy in comparison. I chuckled quietly to myself; he must be out of practice with his dueling.

I noticed that Isa had closed her eyes as she bowed to James, but when she'd stood and opened them, her eyes had taken on that glow when she was channeling her magic, controlling it and using all the techniques that Alice and Rose had taught her during yoga.

Before they started, Hermione came out and sat on the other side of me. I looked over to her with my eyebrow raised.

 _What? I want to learn this stuff too. If you think a war is coming, then I think we should all learn it._

"I agree, Hermione. And we were going to introduce you to it, but we wanted to fill you in on everything first."

 _There will be time for that. Besides, I know more than most._

I nodded and turned back to the duel just in time for them to start. James was harsher with Isa than I would ever be, but I suppose that was the point. Death Eaters weren't going to go easy on us just because we were new to the whole magic thing.

The duel was a lot like watching a dance. They'd fire spells at each other, saying them out loud, so for now, we knew what was being fired at us. Isa was graceful in her movements to dodge the spells and strong in her return of spells. She'd just back flipped out of the way of one spell when Remus nodded at Sirius. While Isa was distracted, Sirius joined in the duel, making it two against one.

What surprised me, though, was that the minute Sirius fired a spell at Isa, she spun and deflected it before firing back a return one.

"Go, Bella!" Harry and Hermione shouted, cheering her on.

The dance continued around the area we were in, with Isa being in control of the whole situation. The emotional barrier that had held me back was falling down fast at my feet. I stood to my feet inside my cage and started cheering her on with the others. I could see the smile she was trying to hide from where I was standing as she cartwheeled out of the way and fired a spell at Remus just as he stepped into the circle.

Harry was up on his feet and firing one off the second after Isa's disarming spell hit Lupin in the chest. While he wasn't as graceful as Isa, he was just as talented. He had a strong sense of right and wrong and protecting those he loved. But he hadn't had that barrier, so he was willing to fight but let Isa do her thing.

After a few minutes Remus called out to Kreacher. The cage that had surrounded me disappeared, so I used my speed to even things out. Before long, we were in an all-out war in our backyard, dealing blows and firing spells. We were all pretty evenly balanced until Hermione decided to join in, she even managed to disarm Sirius first, leaving the four of us to take on James and Remus.

"Well done, Hermione!" Sirius yelled out over all of us. "Even the simplest of spells can deal the biggest blow if it's aimed properly. It comes down to conviction. The stronger you cast the spell—the more you believe in it—the better it is. Some of the biggest, baddest witches or wizards have been brought down with a spell as simple as Expelliarmus."

Not five minutes later, we managed to do just that. Harry and I fired at James while Isa cast her spell toward Remus, disarming all of them.

"And that's how it's done!" Remus cheered. "Team work always wins out over an individual battle, but that was great. And, Edward, congratulations. You finally let go and let Bella grow as an individual."

"It took me a minute." Isa giggled at my understatement. "But I saw what you mean, even when she was just against James. Isa is a capable and bright witch, and in all honesty could probably protect me better than I can her."

"I don't think that's true, but in the event of something happening, you can both protect each other," James argued. "We're going to relax for the rest of the afternoon; tomorrow, we start studying defensive spells. That's what you need, Edward. You rely on your instincts, both vampiric and wizarding, but you cast spells without thinking. You all need a broader range of defensive magic, and once you have that, we'll do this again."

Remus looked at the four of us. "Is there anyone else you want to be included in this training?"

"There is, but it'll have to wait until we've spoken to everyone," I answered.

"Well, let's make that happen soon, right?" I nodded. It did need to happen soon because I wanted all my friends and family to know what Isa and I did. They deserved it, plus it would be easier for us to do what needed to be done if they all knew what we were facing.

After our discussion, we made our way back inside to relax and enjoy the rest of the day. As we walked inside, I reflected on what had happened this school year. It had been long, between the monster and a professor who was nothing but a hack. We'd had to deal with our fair share of problems. But nothing beat besting Voldemort for a second time, and as long as we kept that up, he'd never be able to come back.

Although, I didn't hold out on that hope—he was a slippery bugger, and I had a feeling we'd be facing his full, powerful form sooner rather than later.

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **One last time, let me know what you think!**

 **See you for the next journey through Harry Potter with our favorite Twilight Family.**


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